LIBERTY — Amite County supervisors are nowhere near actual planning stages to adding more room for courthouse needs, but they agree that a change will have to come sooner or later.
Space is at a premium for storing bound books, particularly those in the chancery clerk’s record room.
Add that to the additional office space needs for a second chancery judge and the space predicament has supervisors scratching their heads.
District 4 Supervisor Butch Graves noted that any building project that changes the courthouse must be approved by the Department of Archives and History. The courthouse in Liberty is the longest operating courthouse in the state.
Supervisors have considered having a separate storage space to keep records, but officials say that’s not an option; records must be housed in the courthouse.
Graves said he’s been in touch with architect Johnny Waycaster of Waycaster and Associates in Natchez, and with grant writer Mary Helen Ferguson, for discussion about ideas.
In other matters, the board:
• Voted to have Henry Bateaste Janitorial Service refinish the floors at the central repair shop for $700. Supervisors also agreed to have work done in the Harrison Building, where the floors need to be stripped and rewaxed. Bateaste bid $1,525 for that job.
“It’s getting in pretty bad shape,” said board president Jackie Whittington. “In my opinion, we should go ahead and do it before it gets worse.”
• Learned the Scenic Rivers Alliance will host its annual banquet at 6 p.m. Aug. 19 at the Southwest Mississippi Community College cafeteria. Tickets are $20 for adults. An archery tournament will be held on Aug. 20 at Ethel Vance Park. For more details and for ticket information, call Sarah Hemphill at 657-4801.
• Agreed to buy a $200 half-page ad in the Mississippi Association of Supervisors magazine in May 2017.
• Voted to change Gene Marsalis from full-time driver to part-time for the solid waste department at $10.87 per hour, and Jim Perry from part-time to full time driver at $2035 monthly.
• Agreed to write off a $588 bill for Leslie Holloway at 2385 Maurice Road, Magnolia. Magnolia Electric Power Association confirms that the electricity has been disconnected at the home.
• Discussed the need for a new phone system for the courthouse and nearby county offices. The present system is outdated and maintenance is next to impossible to find. It’s most notably a problem in the tax assessor’s office, said Jana Causey, chancery clerk.
• Approved 23 homestead exemption disallowances and objected to one exemption. Causey said the owner’s Social Security number was inaccurate in the computer system. It has since been corrected.
• Voted to transfer an air conditioning and heating window unit from the courtroom to the sheriff’s department, and to transfer a cooling and heating unit from the judge’s chambers to the central repair building.
