County-owned structure upgrades, repairs planned in Meadville

Efforts to provide a much-needed facelift and interior repairs to the Mississippi State University Extension Service office and Franklin County Museum building in downtown Meadville could soon become a reality.

The Board of Supervisors received quotes in September from two contractors — Haynes Painting and Mulkey Painting — to provide an updated exterior look to the county-owned structure at the corner of Main and Walnut streets.

Supervisors voted to hire Mulkey Painting, who provided a low quote of $16,000 for the work.

Board attorney Morgan Halford Poore said the structure would be painted to match another structure in Meadville’s historic downtown area.

“We’re going to try to paint it to match the Apothecare building, to kind of look similar and clean like that,” Poore said.

Poore pointed out the Bank of Franklin’s headquarters, located across the street, is currently undergoing a complete makeover and the county wanted to do its part in improving the aesthetics of one of its own structures in Meadville’s business district.

As of press time, a date had not been set for the painting to begin.

Poore went on to note that supplementary work is planned for the face of the building — namely a public art display similar to what has been done in other communities across Mississippi to enhance streetscapes.

“Our plans are to do a mural on the big side (of the Extension Service office, as well),” she said. “We’ve got a lady in Jackson working on the design.”

Board President Jimmie “Bodi” Bass said he personally favors seeing a mural on the building that would help tell a visual story or represent what makes Franklin County unique.

In addition to the exterior, the inside of the building will undergo repairs to address significant damage caused by years of roofing leaks.

Independent Roofing was hired by the county on Dec. 20, 2021, to repair the roof where rotten wood, misplaced flashing and a low spot that held significant amounts of water had contributed to leaks after rain events.

Repairs were finished a few months ago, with the total cost of the roofing work totaling $80,740.

During the board’s meeting on Aug. 15, District 2 Supervisor Henry “Eddie” Stebbins — who was a vocal advocate for making repairs to the roof — brought up the need to now address the interior of the building.

“The water pretty much got in everywhere and that’s going to involve doing things like taking down some paneling to see how much damage was done and hopefully prevent or address any mold concerns,” he said.

Supervisors have been in the process of looking for quotes to replace water-damaged ceiling tiles, remove and replaced damaged wall paneling, repair and replace damaged insulation and redo flooring in certain areas of the building, with hopes of hiring a contractor in the near future.