Adams County supervisors approve appointments, contracts, debris‑removal bid and temporary public‑safety hires

The Adams County Board of Supervisors approved a series of personnel appointments, contracts and procurement actions during its meeting, including confirmation of several county officers, selection of a contractor for disaster debris removal and authorization of temporary public‑safety hires under a joint city–county public‑safety initiative.

The board confirmed multiple appointments recommended by county leadership. The board voted to appoint Scott Sloever Fletcher as board attorney for a one‑year term (motion moved by Miss Hudson, second by Miss Milton), Shaquille Martin as county comptroller, Robbie Dollar as county road manager, George Ford as county engineer and Vernon Johnson as justice court administrator. The board also appointed Brad Smith to conduct duties of the county fire coordinator and installed Pamela Clark as the EMA/fire operations chief and deputy floodplain manager in a combined position reported at $37,500 per year (salary descriptions discussed on the record). Each appointment was put to motion and carried by voice vote.

On insurance and employee benefits, county staff reported progress on the health‑insurance renewal and described the “Samaritan Fund,” a program the county uses to assist very high‑cost claimants; the board approved a motion to continue the Samaritan Fund contract as presented (motion moved by Miss Milton, second by Miss Tyson).

Grants, public‑works and procurement - Debris‑removal contract: After receiving bids for one‑year disaster debris removal, the board identified Looks Great Services of Mississippi as the lowest responsive bidder at $6.25 per cubic yard and moved to accept that bid. Discussion on whether to pursue multi‑year contracts followed; the board approved the one‑year award and requested staff consider three‑year contracting options for future solicitations.

- Vehicle purchase: The board approved purchase of a county vehicle via an existing state contract for approximately $39,000; staff confirmed they hold two comparable quotes and will include alternates if the state contract item is unavailable.

- Public Works (C‑044) bid award: The board took bids for the C‑044 project (Lofton Lane, Brooklyn Drive and Trekshare Road) and later awarded the contract to Maynard Landscaping Company, Inc., for $332,410.56 following the bid review and a motion to take bids under advisement and then award.

- Home grant cash requests: Staff presented cash requests for completed or substantially completed housing projects funded through a federal/state home grant. Requested disbursements included $58,550 for work on the John Thompson property (site clearing and mobile home removal), $47,050 for rehabilitation work on a Lucille Smith property, and $12,080 for administrative fees to a subrecipient (Southwest). Because the county administration noted the prime contractor (New City Home Corporation) has been slow to submit reimbursements, the board moved to make payments “pending legal review” so staff could verify contract terms and reimbursement timing before final release.

Public safety and Project Safe Neighborhoods The board approved a county contribution to a joint city–county safety operation and authorized specific city police officers and county deputies to be added as temporary/seasonal workers for Project Safe Neighborhoods at $30 per hour while the county’s allocated $40,000 portion remains in effect. The board named the temporary workers on the record and approved administrative steps to onboard them.

Administrative and routine business Board minutes, dockets and several small tax‑bill adjustments were approved by voice vote. The board also approved travel requests for county staff to attend conferences and training.

Why it matters: The meeting moved a series of routine but impactful personnel and procurement items that affect county operations, emergency response capacity and how the county manages disaster recovery and roadwork contracting going into the new year. Several decisions (notably the home grant cash requests) were advanced subject to legal and contract review, indicating staff will return with follow‑up documentation.

Ending: The board closed the meeting after additional departmental reports and public comments. Outstanding follow‑up items mentioned on the record included legal review of contractor payment terms for the home grant cash requests, staff evaluation of multi‑year debris‑removal contracting, and clarification of roles and reimbursement timing for Project Safe Neighborhoods temporary hires.