At Monday’s regular meeting of the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors, the board awarded the contract for residential garbage collections to low bidder Arrow Disposal Services Inc. of Abbeville, Ala.

    Arrow Disposal was one of three companies which submitted bids. Arrow’s winning bid was $8.45 per month per resident unit. Waste Pro of Mississippi bid $9.20, while Waste Management of Mississippi bid $11.95.

    “Arrow Disposal Inc. will continue to provide garbage pickup for the next five years,” Board President Joe Norwood said. “That is one thing we have behind us.”

    Regarding garbage dumping within the county, supervisors asked Lauderdale County Sheriff Billy Sollie whether raising fines would curtail illegal dumping.

    “Parents today aren’t teaching their children about the rights of others,” Sollie said. “All you’ve got to do to see how bad garbage is drive out any country road and you’ll see the remnants of anyone not respecting the property of the owners by throwing trash out of their vehicles. It’s a lot of trash; every road has some.”

    According to the county ordinance regarding illegal dumping, the fine for the first offense is $250, and the offender must pick up the items discarded. Two or more offenses is a fine of up to $500.

    Sollie compared illegal dumping fines to those for a person charged with DUI. The first offense for a DUI in justice court is $750, while a second offense is $950. A third offense for DUI is a felony and carries with it a fine of $2,500 in Circuit Court.

    “We write close to 400 DUI fines a year,” Sollie said.

Board approvals

    Supervisors approved a resolution to abandon a segment of a county road known as Old Highway 19 near the old McPhail Grocery.

    “The strip of old road is no longer being used and is under a private parking lot,” board attorney Lee Thaggard said.

    Supervisors also authorized a resolution of an Enstoppel Certificate as to the One Meridian LLC (the former Handy Hardware building site.

    “The board confirmed with the property owners that the county owns the land the building is sitting on,” Norwood said. “We’re confirming the owners are in good standing with us. The owners are not in default of the lease that we have.”

    The board also accepted the low quote from J & M Inc. of $17,500 for repair of a box culvert on Raymond Cobb Road.

    Among items approved upon request by interim county administrator Cheryl Polk, supervisors approved:

    – Advertising county resources in the amount of $12,500 to the State Games of Mississippi

    – A budget amendment to increase county advertising resources for the State Games of Mississippi and American Red Cross

    – Payment of $404.95 to Engineering Plus for the Highland Park Indoor Sports Complex from a fund for the $3.2 million Bond.

    – A notice of intent application to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to demolish the Ulmer Building, which was built in 1918.

    – Accepted the low quote of $10,500 from Billy Shumate Construction to demolish the Ross Service Station. Construction Plus bid $14,500 for the project.

    – Paying $7,250 to Appraisers Associated LTD for appraisal of mall property owned by Meridian Marketplace LLC.