Mississippi Transportation Commission approves multiple contracts and authorizations, recesses to executive session on bankruptcy litigation

At a meeting of the Mississippi Transportation Commission, commissioners reviewed and authorized a broad set of project contracts, memoranda of understanding and administrative actions and recessed into executive session to hear a report on bankruptcy litigation affecting northeastern Mississippi.

The items covered construction planning and engineering contracts, a supplemental construction agreement, memoranda of understanding with local agencies for lighting and law-enforcement equipment, vehicle disposals under Federal Transit Administration procedures, routine administrative payments and personnel payrolls, and two proposed legal claims. Commissioners also heard a brief update on the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program and its pending Federal Highway Administration review.

The approvals move multiple projects and administrative actions forward across the state, including preconstruction work on a Marshall County bridge, an environmental assessment submission to the Federal Highway Administration for interchange improvements in Forrest County, and construction and resurfacing projects in several counties. Several items carried specified dollar amounts or caps; several required follow-up approvals by federal or local partners or receipt of additional documentation before final actions could proceed.

Key actions and authorizations discussed or listed on the agenda included:

- Authorization to execute Work Summary No. 4 under the Garver LLC master contract to provide Phase B final construction plans for the bridge on Red Banks Road at U.S. 72 in Marshall County, not to exceed $287,864.25.

- Authorization to forward a draft environmental assessment with a preferred build alternative to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for interchange improvements at I-59 and U.S. 11 in Forrest County; FHWA concurrence and a subsequent public hearing were described as the next steps.

- Approval of a class 3 supplemental agreement No. 1 with Falcon Contracting Inc. to address differing site conditions and complete full depth reclamation work on sections of MS 16 in League and Neshoba counties; the supplemental agreement cost was $495,374.35 and revised the contract from $8,547,330 to approximately $9,000,042.39 (as presented).

- Memoranda of understanding (MOUs) allowing MDOT to install interstate lighting in Madison County and in projects in Brookhaven/Lincoln County, and an MOU among MDOT, a county board of supervisors and a sheriff’s office for participation in an inmate litter program with a cost not to exceed $50,000 per year.

- Authorization to enter a master agreement with Unity Fiber Gulfco LLC permitting location of electrical power and communications utility lines on MDOT right-of-way, with individual permits required for each installation.

- Authorization to execute an MOU permitting placement of automatic license plate readers or other permanently mounted law-enforcement devices on right-of-way (listed local agencies not specified in the transcript excerpt).

- Authorization to advertise, select and negotiate an engineering services contract for construction engineering, inspection and testing services for the I-55/I-20 freight corridor improvements in Hinds and Rankin counties.

- Disposal of vehicles operated by Sections 53.10/53.11 (Grama subrecipients) in accordance with Federal Transit Administration property-management procedures; the staff member presenting said the disposals were handled per FTA rules.

- A brief NEVI program update: a staff member reported that the federal government revised NEVI rules and required states to update plans; the presenter said Mississippi would submit its updated NEVI plan to Federal Highway “probably tomorrow” and did not anticipate problems obtaining FHWA approval.

- Procurement and administrative items: expansion of Sprout Social platform access for one additional user for a two-year term at a total not to exceed $6,358.14 for public affairs; a recommended concurrence for a Department of Information Technology Services sole-source maintenance contract for badge-pass access-control support for District 5, Newton and Meridian offices for a three-year term not to exceed $28,056; a professional services contract to support disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) recruitment and training not to exceed $131,963; ratification of accounts-payable and payroll dockets and commissioner payroll and expense items as listed on the agenda; and agency contract advertisements and copier/maintenance agreements (vendors and amounts listed in the agenda).

- Two legal-authority items listed on the agenda: one (later removed from the agenda by unanimous consent) asked the commission to authorize and request the Office of the Attorney General to file suit and hire expert witnesses to pursue a claim against Austin Dale Wilson of Walls and CK Construction of Senatobia for damage to the intelligent-transportation system on I-69 in DeSoto County in the amount of $64,923.60; another asked the attorney general to pursue a separate claim against JNJ Express of Memphis for damage to a bridge and guardrail in Buescher County in the amount of $25,138.90. The agenda also listed acceptance of $1,151 from Farmers Insurance on behalf of Sherman Wade Phillips as full settlement for median-cable barrier property damage (Lee County) and a request for executive session to discuss ongoing litigation.

Where the record shows formal motions recorded in the transcript, the commission approved the minutes of the prior meeting and approved the meeting agenda. The commission subsequently voted to recess into executive session to receive a report on bankruptcy litigation affecting northeastern Mississippi; the transcript records the motion, a second and the chair’s announcement that the commission recessed for executive session.

Votes at a glance (as recorded in the meeting transcript):

- Approval of minutes: motion made and seconded; motion carried (vote not recorded by individual names in the excerpt).

- Approval of the meeting agenda: moved, seconded; Chair called for aye and the motion passed (no roll-call tally provided in the excerpt).

- Removal from the agenda of the AG-authority claim against Austin Dale Wilson and CK Construction: no commissioner objected when asked; item removed by unanimous consent (no roll-call recorded in the excerpt).

- Recess to executive session on bankruptcy litigation in Northeast Mississippi: motion made and seconded; chair announced the commission recessed for executive session (no roll-call tally provided in the excerpt).

Several agenda items listed specific dollar amounts and procedural dependencies that will require further administrative action before work advances (for example, FHWA approval for the environmental assessment and local public-agency documentation before construction awards). The meeting transcript records few prolonged debates; most presenters summarized the items, commissioners asked few questions, and staff indicated next steps for federal or local concurrence when required.

The commission’s public-record agenda included many additional procurement and administrative items (copier rentals, janitorial service for District 5 at a listed rate of $31,465.32 per year, ratified purchases, and requests to advertise for agency contracts for the 11/01/2025–10/31/2026 period). Where the transcript excerpt recorded exact dollar amounts, they are included above; where the agenda text in the record was unclear or abbreviated, the transcript language is reported as presented in the meeting.

The meeting recessed into executive session to receive a litigation update; commissioners directed nonparticipants to leave the room and announced a short recess before returning to open session.