Legislature authorizes $500K for Bude sewer lagoon work

The Bude Board of Aldermen received some good news during its Tuesday, April 4 business meeting in learning the Mississippi Legislature had allocated $500,000 in state funds to assist the municipality with upgrades to its aging and antiquated sewer lagoon.

District 85 Rep. Jeffery Harness, D-Fayette, dropped in to deliver the news from the recently completed lawmaking session in Jackson and noted the measure allocating the support was awaiting Gov. Tate Reeve’s signature to take effect.

“The town sent in a request in January to get funds for needed infrastructure repairs, and we were able to obtain that under House Bill No. 603,” Harness told the panel and drew a round of applause from Mayor Linda Green and board members in attendance.

“We have a good coalition of lawmakers representing Franklin County at the capitol and I think that shows from this allocation and the $8 million that was set aside for the Scenic Rivers Development Alliance, which is working on the Okhissa Lake resort and conference center.”

Harness said the $500,000 in sewer funds were set aside for the purpose of, as stated in the legislation, “cleaning, removing excessive vegetation and including, but not limited to, dredging of sludge and sediment.”

Town attorney Mary Kathryn Williamson questioned if the municipality would be obligated to match the state funds, but Harness pointed out the state appropriation was just that and Bude leaders would receive the total amount without any local monetary contribution.

“That’s wonderful,” Williamson responded.

The town has also recently petitioned U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, who represents Mississippi’s First Congressional District, for federal funds to also assist with sewer lagoon improvements, which are estimated to cost in the neighborhood of $1.5 to $2 million.
Bude officials have been talking about improvements at the lagoon for several years, but have had few financial resources to tackle the scope of work, which ranges from removing excess vegetation and waste build-up to motorized equipment upgrades and perimeter fencing repairs.

Additionally, Harness called attention to Section 3 of House Bill No. 535, after conference committee action and also pending approval by the governor, which would allow Bude to issue municipal permits to allow for package stores.

“If you choose to do that, you would have the ability to do so within your corporate limits,” Harness said.

Williamson noted town leaders would have to create a permit structure for such ventures as there has been no legal framework to allow for liquor sales in the past.

Harness said another project that remains on his radar is a previous request from the community for state assistance to preserve and possibly relocate the town’s historic train depot.

“I continue to look for these funds and will push that in future sessions of the legislature,” he went on to say.

In other action to come before the panel, Bude aldermen considered these pieces of business:

• Heard from Police Chief Reggie Cain regarding Bude’s growing stray dog problem.

Cain noted Dr. Pat Larkin, a Franklin County area veterinarian, would put down unwanted or unclaimed canines from within the corporate limits for $75 each — covering the cost of the medication used in the process with no charge for his services — which would have to be paid by the town.

“The only other option Dr. Larkin suggested was building our own municipal shelter to take in the dogs,” Cain said.

This option would most likely involve the town trapping and holding stray dogs and eventually having them put down if they were not claimed by their owners in an established amount of time.

Attention then shifted to various aspects of animal control, including enacting and enforcing a municipal leash law along with dog licensing in Bude.

Residents and aldermen said the number of potentially dangerous confrontations between people and loose dogs has grown — including instances of animal bites — to become a major public safety concern.

“It’s to the point people can’t feel safe around their homes and something needs to be done before anyone else gets hurt,” Alderman Norma Jean Kelly said during the session.

“People have been attacked and bit, and it’s not getting any better.”

Town officials said they would take an expedited look at their options to create laws that deal with community residents who fail to take responsibility for restraining their dogs.

• Discussed the potential purchase of a half-ton, extended cab truck for the town’s maintenance department using the base state contract price — a competitive bid price arranged by a state government for use by various governmental entities — totaling $36,334.

Officials also considered some alterations to the base cost of the truck, including purchasing a vehicle with a V-8 engine, a different body color and adding a trailer hitch, which could increase the cost to $39,499.

• Approved the municipal claims docket for March in the amount of $16,057.24; the town’s payroll for the month totaling $29,271.04; and the Public Employees Retirement of Mississippi contribution of $5,605.

• Authorized, on a 3-2 vote, the hiring of Lee Turner as a part-time officer for the Bude Police Department.

Turner presently serves as a probation-parole officer for the Mississippi Department of Corrections and was previously a deputy with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department.

The board went into executive session prior to the hiring, and later approved Turner joining the force with Aldermen Jillian Dunmore and James Griffith casting the two negative votes.

Aldermen Jeffery Quick, John Knight and Kelly were in favor of the hiring.

The next monthly business meeting for the Bude Board of Aldermen will be held at 6 p.m., Tuesday, May 1 at town hall.