Olive Branch aldermen approve multiple contracts, set 35.05 mill tax rate and order one nuisance property cleared

The Olive Branch Board of Aldermen voted on a series of contracts and municipal actions and held public comment on neighborhood drainage and a delayed road project at its second 2025 meeting. The board approved two airport construction bid packages, awarded a water-and-sewer construction contract, approved the fiscal 2025–26 budget and a reduced millage rate, declared one property a public nuisance for cleanup and tabled a final plat request for two weeks.

Why it matters: The board approved multi-million-dollar construction contracts that rely largely on federal and state grant funding, finalized the local budget and tax rate that will govern city revenue for the coming fiscal year, and took enforcement action on at least one long-standing nuisance property — immediate items that affect city infrastructure, finances and neighborhood conditions.

Airport contracts, contractor hearing

The board approved two separate airport construction awards after hearing from Alan Tatum, vice president of Phillips Contracting, who had come to address earlier delays on a local road job that prompted resident complaints. The board voted to accept the base bid of $5,934,665 for the taxiway rehabilitation (phase 2) and separately awarded the South Apron rehabilitation (phase 2) schedule 2 in the amount of $2,884,345. In discussion, Tatum said the project funding is largely grant-supported: “we're only paying 2.5% of this. FAA is paying 95%. MDOT's paying 2.5, and we're paying 2.5,” and described planned spring start dates and a roughly 217–270 working-day contract window from notice to proceed. The board asked the contractor to return with progress updates at roughly the quarter- and halfway points of construction.

Public commenter and contractor Alan Tatum also addressed the board at length about delays on Pleasant Hill Road, a separate municipal road project contracted to Phillips. Tatum described weather, underground utility conflicts and soil…