Supervisors set hearing on cannabis for May 2

The Franklin County Board of Supervisors once again opened the floor for public discussion of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act during its Monday, April 18 business meeting.

The MMCA allows counties and municipalities the option to opt out of allowing the cultivation, processing, sale and distribution of medical marijuana, with Tuesday, May 3 being the deadline to take such action.

Franklin County resident Hilda Peeler addressed the board with a request that they vote to opt out, saying she feels the panel would benefit from having additional time to research and learn more about the act.

“As a resident of Franklin County, it is my opinion and hope you and the board will make the decision to opt out for the time being,” Peeler noted.

“This is not saying that I approve of marijuana or even medical cannabis. There is still much research you as county officials need to investigate in allowing dispensaries, cultivators or production facilities from operating in our county.

“I personally do not feel boards (of supervisors) across the state have been given enough time to study the hundreds of pages of the Medical Cannabis Act. As concerned citizens of this county, my husband and I have some questions.

“How concerned are you about the possibility of a marijuana-related business opening legally in Franklin County? What about land use and zoning laws, and designations that will regulate how these businesses will operate in the county?

“What are your concerns for local law enforcement and the potential for more burglaries and robberies if dispensaries are approved? What are the dangers of the black market (and the potential for counterfeit medical cards)?”

Peeler also raised questions about the use of medical marijuana in public and in schools and how to enforce regulations at events such as the Homochitto River Festival.

The board voted to hold a public hearing at 10 a.m., during its regular business meeting on Monday, May 2 regarding the Medical Cannabis Act, and will make a decision at that time.

In other action, board attorney Bill Halford brought up a recent report on the status of Southwest Mississippi Mental Health Complex Region 11 and an ultimatum State Coordinator for Mental Health Accessibility Bill Rosamond gave supervisors in regards to local mental health services.

On Monday, March 7, Rosamond told the panel that they — as well as the other boards of supervisors in counties serviced by Region 11 — would have 30 days to provide his office with a plan detailing how each respective county would address local mental health needs, as the services provided by Region 11 had been deemed inadequate.

On Tuesday, April 5, Halford and District 5 Supervisor Jimmie “Bodi” Bass, who also serves as board president, met with other governmental officials from Adams, Amite, Claiborne, Jefferson, Lawrence, Pike, Walthall and Wilkinson counties in an effort to figure out what could be done.

Halford also noted Region 11 Executive Director Sherlene Vince was in attendance at the meeting, and the various county representatives gave her until Wednesday, April 20 to provide them with a plan to address mental health needs in the affected counties.

Since the April 5 meeting, Halford and other county attorneys have reportedly corresponded with Rosamond regarding the situation.

During the initial meeting between Rosamond and Franklin County supervisors in March, he pointed out local mental health initiatives had been deemed inadequate after an in-depth review of Region 11.

Some of the issues of concern noted by Rosamond included Region 11’s past troubles in making Public Employees Retirement System contributions, an inability to provide employees with health insurance, understaffing impacts on the services rendered and difficulties with billing affecting the organization’s bottom line.

“The reality is, a community mental health center is a business,” Rosamond said in March.

“It is operated with support of county funds, it’s operated with support of state and federal funds, but the fact is, it’s a business. It’s got to be operated like one, and one of the large components of sustainability is billing, and operating effectively and efficiently the way that it should be. The fact is we’ve seen nothing to show that what’s going on here is sustainable.”

Also at this week’s board meeting, supervisors took up the following business:

• Voted to use American Rescue Plan Act funding to purchase a coroner van from Rainbow Dodge for $33,348.

Three quotes were given on comparable vehicles and, as the cost was under $50,000, the reverse auction bid process was not necessary.

• Heard from Kim Ford from the AJFC office. Ford announced her office will host its annual public hearing in conjunction with a community service program from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Thursday, May 20 at the Mississippi State University Extension Service Office in Meadville.

She also said vendors would be present at the event, which serves to inform the community about what AJFC does and provide details about the services it offers.

The program will have a come-and-go format, according to Ford.

• Accepted a certificate of attendance for Circuit Clerk Warren Walker for participating via Zoom in a 2022 Circuit Clerk’s continuing education course.

• Approved travel for Gladys Wilcher to attend the annual Justice Court clerk’s conference, with all expenses to be paid by the Mississippi Judicial College.

• Approved payment of a claim to Fisher Brown Bottrell Insurance in the amounts of $240 for a $50,000 bond on Deputy Otis Dyer and $175 for a $50,000 bond on Deputy Joshua Guice.

• Approved reimbursing Franklin County Memorial Hospital in Meadville a total of $8,486.94 from funds received through the county’s insurance coverage.

The hospital paid Rushing Construction to replace a roof-awning on the medical clinic building that was damaged by Hurricane Ida.

• Accepted a permit application from Franklin Telephone Company for doing telecommunications infrastructure work along McNair Road.

• Heard from Chancery Clerk Jill Jordan Gilbert that bids will be opened at 10 a.m., Friday, April 22 for Local System Bridge Program (LSBP) Project-19(17), which is for Bonus and Martin Bonds roads.

• Noted all county governmental offices will be closed on Monday, April 25 for the observance of Confederate Memorial Day.

The Franklin County Board of Supervisors will meet again at 9 a.m., on Monday, May 2 at the courthouse on Main Street in Meadville.