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Board delays approval for Coastal Electric's request to use county ball fields for hurricane-restoration staging
Summary
Coastal Electric asked to use multiple county sites, including ball fields, parking lots and a 'tent city' for post-hurricane workforce staging. Board members raised concerns about tent housing and logistics and asked staff to do site walks and develop contingency plans before taking final action.
Coastal Electric requested permission to use Harrison County ball fields and other county-owned lots for laydown yards and to stage crews and subcontractors during hurricane restoration work. The request included use of multiple sites previously used for staging after storms and referenced a planned tent-based staging area the company called a "tent city."
Board members expressed concern about the idea of a tent city on county recreation fields and about impacts to playing surfaces and nearby neighborhoods. Multiple speakers recalled a sizable FEMA tent city after Hurricane Katrina and said the county should consider whether the company's proposed use would differ from past emergency encampments. One board member suggested the company may prefer to plan logistics well ahead of a storm so crews know where to report.
The board did not approve use of the fields at this meeting. Instead, members asked county staff to contact Coastal Electric, arrange site walks at each location referenced in the request, and develop contingency triggers (an A/B/C plan) so the county would only permit more intrusive staging arrangements if storm severity so required. Board members noted Coastal Electric already operates a cleared 15-acre storage yard nearby that might serve as an alternative to using the fields.
Ending: The board directed staff to reconvene conversations with Coastal Electric and to bring a site-specific plan back to the board rather than taking immediate county-wide approval for tent-based staging.
Note: Direct quotes from individual board members were not attributed in the transcript to a fully identified speaker; the summary reflects the board's recorded discussion and instructions to staff.
