Supervisors move forward in addressing building issues

Progress has been made in addressing some ongoing problems at Franklin County’s Department of Human Services building in Bude.

On June 6, Nancy Butler, who serves as the county’s DHS director, met with the Franklin County Board of Supervisors to inform them that the building was once again infested with termites.

Additionally, attention was drawn to plumbing issues in the building’s front bathroom and an outside spigot.

At the board’s regular business meeting on Monday, Oct. 17, District 5 Supervisor and Board President Jimmie “Bodi” Bass gave an update on the situation.

“Me, (District 2 Supervisor) Eddie (Stebbins) and (county engineer) Mike (McKenzie) went over there to look, and there’s two rooms that have termite damage in them,” Bass said.

“I haven’t gotten an answer back whether or not it’s been sprayed yet, so I need to check with Erica or Butler on that. But once that’s done, somebody will need to go over there and (tear) that wall out to see what the damage is.

“There was an issue with the plumbing, and we got Tom Tom to go over there and that’s been corrected. He said one thing they need to do is flush the toilets on a regular basis.

“There’s not that much use, but the p-traps will dry out and anything that’s in there will get hard and cause it to back up. So anytime someone uses the restroom, flush them all – that’s the easiest way to do it.”

In another DHS building matter, District 4 Supervisor Pat Larkin said he would take care of an outside drainage problem at the site where standing water has been a problem following heavy rainfall events.

The panel also discussed the Mississippi State University Extension Service office on Walnut Street in Meadville, as quotes were received from two contractors for repairs to the interior of the building.

A perpetually leaking flat roof on the building, which was recently addressed by a contractor, had resulted in stormwater runoff damaging ceiling tiles, wall paneling and floors inside the Extension Service office and the adjoining Franklin County Museum.

“They’re going to pull the boards down and if they’re able to reuse them, they will. If not, then they’ll be replaced,” Bass said.

The quotes were from Anthony Steele for $5,525, and from Touchstone Carpentry in the amount of $6,125.

The board voted to accept the quote from Steele for those improvements.

Supervisors also recently voted to repaint the exterior of the Extension Service office and museum, which is across the street from the courthouse in downtown Meadville.