Do Lauderdale County supervisors plan to temporarily relocate courthouse workers to the vacant JC Penney store at the Bonita Lakes Mall?

The answer is maybe.

After hearing about the possible relocation, The Meridian Star obtained an email about a meeting held last Friday.

In the email, addressed primarily to department heads, Lauderdale County Administrator Chris Lafferty wrote, “the Board of Supervisors has reached a point in the courthouse project that we need to take the next step and get some feedback.”

At the meeting, Lafferty, along with District 1 Supervisor Jonathan Wells, District 3 Supervisor Josh Todd and others involved with the courthouse project met with department heads and other county employees to discuss an imminent move.

“The full plan is unknown but what is known is the fact that wherever we go will temporary and we will all have to sacrifice,” Lafferty wrote. “That means we will have to think outside the box and be realistic in our expectations.”

On Tuesday, Lafferty confirmed the meeting and a possible scenario, which includes relocating employees to the JC Penney building, using the old federal courthouse for court proceedings and selling the courthouse annex.

“What was discussed was some possible targets, but nothing is ever set in stone,” Lafferty said. “When it gets on the board minutes — it’s official.”

When asked about the relocation to the JC Penney building, Wells said, “If you were to prioritize, that would probably be at the top, but right now it’s just talk.”

“It is being looked at, but we’re also looking at some other buildings,” Wells said. “The [JC] Penney building is attractive because it’s so large.”

District 5 Supervisor Kyle Rutledge also weighed in.

“… There are so many different aspects into this thing — the federal building or moving people to the annex — it’s just hard to say on where we’re going to go with this stuff,” Rutledge said. “We’ve got to look at the cost of all the different things of which way to go and move people around and keep the wheels of government rolling. “I’m undecided.”

A date of Jan. 1 has been mentioned as a deadline for county employees to vacate the courthouse.

Lafferty confirmed that Jan. 1 has been discussed as “an arbitrary date” to have the courthouse vacant and ready for renovation.

“What would you say the chances are of us being out of any building by January 1?” inquired Lafferty, who said supervisors earlier this year also discussed a deadline date of Oct. 1. “Having to be out by January 1 is absolutely false. That cannot happen — and that has not been approved by the board.”

Open meetings

Rutledge and fellow supervisors Joe Norwood and Wayman Newell were not at Friday’s meeting, as having more than two supervisors at the meeting would constitute a quorum, making it open to the public.  

The two-at-a-time tactic has been an issue in the past for the board. In January 2015, the board was hit with a violation of the Open Meetings Act by the Mississippi Ethics Commission. The complaint was brought by local watchdog Tommy Williams of the Lauderdale County Citizens for Responsible Governance, who alleged supervisors had illegally met before an official meeting. Williams said board members were guilty of what is commonly referred to as a “rolling quorum,” where supervisors meet two at a time to avoid a quorum.

The board has appealed the ethics commission’s decision. Meanwhile, Williams has filed a motion to consolidate five civil action cases against the the Lauderdale Board of Supervisors. Williams’ cases involve the board’s alleged misuse of parts of the $14 million bond issue from April 2013.

Williams’ most recent civil case, filed June 15, concerns an action by the board on June 5 to “approve a final payment of $12,920.70 to supplement previous payments totaling $492,207.42 for a total amount paid to Joe McGee Construction Company, Inc. of Lake, Miss., from the bond issue passed by the Board of Supervisors on April 1, 2013 of $505,128,12,” according to Williams’ filing. Those funds were used to construct a baseball field.

Ongoing issues

The 80,000-square-foot JC Penney store, owned by Rockstep Capital, was recently vacated after JC Penney announced on Feb. 24 its intent to close two distribution facilities and 130-140 retail stores.

At the courthouse, employees continue to work in what a Lauderdale County grand jury this summer called “unacceptable” conditions “for employees and citizens.”

“The Board of Supervisors need to be making every effort to acquire the finances needed for a new courthouse,” the grand jury stated, citing issues that include an antiquated ventilation system, mold problems and insufficient emergency exits.

Over the past year, supervisors have been looking at a number of options regarding the courthouse. 

Lafferty said any temporary move would last for more than one year, possibly longer. While the federal courthouse building is still an option, Lafferty said moving to the old Village Fair Mall was “no longer really sought after.”

“That is pretty much the leaning of the board that any move is going to be temporary,” Lafferty said. “The idea of the board is to support downtown Meridian and to stay local, but even that hasn’t been made official…That could change.”

Since the board hired construction manager Yates Construction and Bob Luke of LPK Architects, P.A., more options — including the federal courthouse building and the JC Penney building, have been added to the list, along with many others.

Lafferty said the board is doing its due diligence to make the right decision.

“They are committed to this courthouse project — they are closer than they’ve ever been,” Lafferty said. “This is something that should have been done 20 years ago. This problem was not created overnight, and it is not going to be solved overnight.”