Lauderdale County supervisors on Monday discussed a variety of county business including allowing a documentary crew to film in the old county jail and congestion issues that may arise during construction of a new Chick-fil-A.

 

County Administrator Chris Lafferty said a group making a documentary featuring former inmate Chris Etheridge approached the county for permission to film in the old county jail, which sits on top of the old Lauderdale County Courthouse on Constitution Avenue. The county has allowed other groups to film there in the past, he said.

 

“Mr. Etheridge used to be a resident at the old jail on top of the courthouse, and then there’s a group — don’t know what group it is, is doing a documentary about him — so they want to have him up there at some point doing some filming,” he said.

 

Board Attorney Lee Thaggard said the Board of Supervisors allowed a group of ghost hunters to visit the old jail several years ago and stay overnight to search for paranormal activity.

 

Chick-Fil-A

 

While the announcement has not officially been made public, construction of a new Chick-fil-A in downtown Meridian is set to begin shortly after the Board of Supervisors signed closing documents Monday to sell Lot 1 of the government complex subdivision to the popular fast food chain. Lot 1 lays along the north side of Government Street behind Meridian Housing Authority.

 

Supervisors also took action on several easements related to the project as work is set to get underway. Thaggard said AT&T had easements covering a large portion of the property in front of the government center and released some to help the project move forward. The other action was approval of an easement agreement between the county and Chick-fil-A.

 

Calling the development, “Meridian’s worst-kept secret,” Lafferty said he spoke with the project manager last week potentially using some waste asphalt the county has piled near the work site for a construction entrance off of E Street. He said he also spoke to Meridian Housing Authority, which is also all-in on the project.

 

“They say, ‘we will do whatever we can to get it open as soon as we can,’” he said. “So they’re more than happy to help.”

 

Although the documentation the county has shows 22nd Avenue as the main construction entrance for the project, Lafferty said he has some concerns about safety and traffic congestion once construction gets underway. He said he plans to suggest an alternate route to the project manager where trucks and equipment exit Interstate 20 one exit down and approach the work site from behind.