Lauderdale County supervisors have approved an agreement with PPM Consultants to study brownfield grants concerning the Village Fair Mall site as a possible venue to house a courthouse.

The agreement was approved during Tuesday’s Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors regular meeting, 

Along with studies at the Village Fair Mall site, PPM will do other work for the county as directed. PPM’s $171 an hour fee will fluctuate depending on what is needed.

“We will contract with PPM for any future projects we may have or on any property we will purchase in the future,” Board President Josh Todd said. “PPM studies any property for brownfield to see if it was a brownfield site or not. They will also study what we can do with that property if it was a brownfield property.”

Meridian native Jere “Trey” Hess, the director of Brownfield and Economic Development with PPM Consultants, explained to supervisors what a brownfield site was during last month’s work session. Hess did not attend Tuesday’s board meeting.

He said last month a brownfield site “refers to land that is abandoned or underused, in part because of concerns about contamination. The federal government defines brownfield sites as ‘abandoned, idled or underused industrial and commercial properties where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination.’ ” 

Opponents of the Village Fair Mall site as a possible location for the courthouse say the site is a former dump and gas station and full of environmental hazards.

Todd said PPM’s fee is not concrete.

“The amount of money we will spend will be regulated by the board and be capped,” Todd said. We decided not to cap it for the overall scope of the work because we don’t know what we’re going to use him for. It will be on a case by case basis.” 

Hess was happy over Tuesday’s vote. He is a 1986 Meridian High School graduate.

“I’m excited to be able to help the town I grew up in and ready for any challenges that you find in Lauderdale County,” Hess said by phone after the meeting. “I look forward to getting started. We’ll teach out to property owners to gather some of the environmental reports that have been done in the near term and several years ago. I know concerns governments have with costs. I think this will work out just fine for all of us.”

Supervisors have been challenged for months to find a suitable solution to the cramped and aging courthouse, which was built in 1905. Belinda Stewart, of Belinda Stewart Architects, from Eupora, delivered a 66-page study to the board in December, recommending potential solutions. Possible solutions include:

• Adding on to the courthouse and renovating the Courthouse Annex at a price of $37.95 million;

• Not adding on to the existing courthouse but renovating the annex and removing the existing jail at a price of $37.27 million

* Renovating the courthouse and adding on and selling the annex at a price of $30.9 million. The current jail is not included in the plan;

• Moving all county business to the old Village Fair Mall site at a projected price of $43.65 million;

• Moving all county business to the Village Fair Mall and selling lots around the site for private development at a projected price of $46.75 million.