Pearl River County supervisors approve hires, payments and project work; executive session held with no action

The Pearl River County Board of Supervisors met on April 6, 2026, in the Supervisors Board Room at the Pearl River County Courthouse Complex in Poplarville and approved a set of routine personnel, financial and capital-project actions.

President Malcolm Perry called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. The board unanimously approved the March 18, 2026 minutes and the claims docket for April 6, 2026. The board then heard three public presentations—one from Hope Haven recognizing Child Abuse Prevention Month, a special recognition for Pearl River Community College basketball teams, and a presentation by Rev. John A. Pervel regarding church property—but took no action on those presentations.

On administrative matters, the board approved hiring Taylor Johnson as a full-time dispatcher effective April 7, 2026 (mover: District 1 Supervisor Donald Hart; seconder: District 3 Supervisor Cruz Russell). The board acknowledged the Circuit Clerk’s 2025 annual financial report and approved payment of employer PERS contributions totaling $3,838.00 (mover: District 3 Supervisor Cruz Russell; seconder: District 5 Supervisor Bryce Lott). County Administrator Adrain Lumpkin, Jr. presented financial items the board approved, including payment of $7,980.04 to the Capital One Spark Business Card and a transfer of $156,016.25 from the General Fund to the Courthouse Annex Bond Fund to cover an interest payment due May 1, 2026 (mover on both motions: District 1 Supervisor Donald Hart; seconder: District 5 Supervisor Bryce Lott).

The county engineer reported on ongoing projects; the board approved pay application no. 7 to Clymer Contracting, LLC for $99,336.75 for PRC Tech Park Buildings 1 and 2 and authorized Construction Change Order No. 4 (additional paved ditch) for the Industrial Park Hwy 26 Widening Project (mover: District 4 Supervisor Jason Spence; seconder: District 1 Supervisor Donald Hart). The board also approved hiring Ryan Schubert as a part-time firefighter for Fire District #11 and acknowledged the bond and oath of Tanya Herndon as Deputy Justice Court Clerk for the April 5, 2026–April 5, 2027 term.

Sheriff David Allison’s personnel matters were approved, including acceptance of several resignations and hiring multiple correctional officers, and the board authorized clothing allowances under Miss. Code ANN 19-25-13 for listed employees. The board also approved sending the Tiger Commissary proposal for review by the county attorney for the Lenoir Rowell Criminal Justice Center.

Other approvals included recognizing deputy tax assessor bonds, authorizing poll-worker payments from the March 10 primary, multiple training and conference travel authorizations (including Basic Law Enforcement Training at $4,000 per cadet), hiring Garrett Manuel Guzman as a full-time tractor driver, purchasing aluminized steel culverts from Dial Inc. (totaling $22,213.50 for two listed projects), and approving updates to the road paving list and monthly paving report. The board acknowledged and closed out the Carriere Park Walking Trail Restroom Project (24-RTP-389) with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and authorized President Perry to sign closeout documents.

At 10:30 a.m., the board voted unanimously to move into executive session under Miss. Code 25-41-7 to discuss personnel matters (4(a)), litigation strategy (4(b)) and business location/expansion negotiations (4(j)). The board later returned to open session and recorded that no action was taken during executive session. The board recessed for lunch at 12:45 p.m. and reconvened at 2:00 p.m. before approving an amendment to authorize payment for a juvenile evaluation and posting notice of the recess meeting. The meeting minutes were read and approved and signed by President Malcolm Perry and Chancery Clerk Melinda Bowman.

Votes were recorded as unanimous where noted; individual motions list the mover and seconder in the official minutes. The board’s next scheduled meeting is 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, April 22, 2026, at the Board of Supervisors meeting room at 109 W Pearl St., Poplarville.

Ending: The meeting concluded after the board recessed to the next scheduled meeting; no further actions were taken during the session that followed the executive session.