Madison County supervisors approve urban renewal plan and regional alliance to advance proposed conference center

The Madison County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a resolution establishing an urban renewal plan and to authorize a regional economic development alliance intended to advance a proposed Madison County Conference Center.

Procon Global Investment Group CEO Gabriel Prado asked the board for its support, saying the facility has been a long‑time community goal. "We're here to ask for your support for Madison County Conference Center," Prado said, urging the board to begin the process to build a center that would serve Ridgeland, Canton, Richland, Yazoo and the wider Jackson metro area.

Mayor McGee voiced strong support for the project, calling it "something that we have needed in the county for many years." He said the center would give counties a local venue for large conferences and gatherings that hotels cannot accommodate.

Board President said the board had worked on the project for months and outlined two required next steps: adopting an urban renewal plan to enable district financing and forming a regional economic development alliance with the city of Ridgeland and a private partner referenced in the meeting record. "Make the motion that the board approves the resolution establishing the urban renewal plan for Madison County Conference Center project and providing for a public hearing on the same following approval of the plan by the County Planning and Zoning Department," the Board President moved; the motion was seconded by Supervisor Banks.

Not all supervisors were comfortable with the financing approach. Supervisor Brandon said he supported the idea of a conference center but remained unconvinced that taxpayer risk had been addressed. "I do not believe that we need to be in the banking business," Brandon said, adding he could not support the action "at this time." The Board President responded that county financial advisers had reviewed the proposal and were "good with it at this point," and that further steps—including any bond issuance—would be required before county debt was issued.

Supervisor Baxter, who was briefly absent for the first vote, said he would "dive a little deeper into the finances" and planned to meet with the governor and the Mississippi Development Authority for additional due diligence. He said he was not opposed in principle but needed more time to prepare for future votes.

Both the resolution to establish an urban renewal plan and the resolution to authorize the regional economic development alliance were advanced by voice vote; the meeting record shows "aye" and at least one recorded "no" on each motion. The transcript does not include a roll‑call tally.

Next steps the board specified include review and approval by the County Planning and Zoning Department and a public hearing on the urban renewal plan; the timeline for those steps was not stated in the meeting record.