Lauderdale County officials are working to gather more information about a potential project to expand parking at the Lauderdale County Government Center off of 22nd Avenue.

 

In a meeting Monday, the Board of Supervisors discussed gates for employee parking behind the building, something county officials have been pondering since the building’s construction. Fenced and gated employee parking behind the building, which was included in the original plan, was dropped due to conflicts with the city of Meridian’s fire code.

 

In addition to the gates, Supervisor Josh Todd said the county should also look at expanding parking behind the building. Parking spots can be hard to find, especially on days court is in session, he said.

 

“This parking lot fills up pretty quick, especially during court. Maybe have a little more parking for our people here in the back,” he said. “Just see what that costs us.”

 

Supervisor J.J. Anders said Todd is correct about the need for more parking, and he is in support of getting quotes on the project to at least see what the cost will be.

 

County Administrator Chris Lafferty said the county still has roughly $1.1 million in the courthouse fund that could be used to expand parking. The area behind the courthouse, however, is congested with utilities, and it may take additional work to put asphalt there. He said he would reach out to Engineering Plus, which acts as the county engineer, to explore the idea and get a better idea of potential costs.

 

Todd said the county can also reach out to LPK Architects, which designed the Government Center, and see what documentation they have showing the proposed space.

 

Road Manager Rush Mayatt said the project would need to include cutting some curb, redoing drainage and relocating utilities. The big hurdle, however, will be the handicap parking, he said.

 

Americans with Disabilities Act requirements dictate a certain number of handicap parking spots based on the overall parking capacity. Expanding parking, whether employee or public, will also require the addition of more handicap parking, he said.

 

“It would probably make more sense to dedicate handicap in these other areas rather than in that designated area,” he said.

 

Supervisor Craig Houston said handicap parking has been an ongoing issue at the new courthouse, and that is something the board needs to address sooner rather than later. The county has fielded numerous complaints about the distance from handicap parking spaces to the public entrance to the building since it opened.

 

“We’ve been talking about that for a year and a half and we haven’t looked at a thing,” he said. “So that’s what we need to deal with first, in my opinion.”

 

Lafferty said he will work to gather more information to present to the board at a work session.

 

In other business, the Board of Supervisors approved the surplus and sale of several large, corrugated metal pipes at the request of the road department. Mayatt said the county no longer uses metal pipes, and these have been sitting unused.

 

“Metal pipes are a thing of the past,” he said.

 

Declaring them surplus and selling them won’t get the county a full return on its investment, but it will bring in something, he said. The county will accept sealed bids for the pipes and select the highest and best bid.

 

“I’m hoping one of our pipe suppliers will buy these back,” Mayatt said.