Leflore County Volunteer Fire Coordinator Bobby Norwood told supervisors on Monday that county residents within five miles of the Itta Bena station and Money station No. 2 on Mississippi 7 have an improved fire rating that will save them money on homeowners insurance.
“Since the inception of volunteer fire services, everyone has had a rating of 10 on fire certificates for the county,” Norwood said.
“Based on going through the grading process, with inspectors checking all the hydrants and stations, Itta Bena has gone from a class 10 rating to a 7, and homes around Money No. 2 have moved from a 10 to a 7.”
Ratings improved by one point for residents near stations in Minter City and the Money No. 1 station, located at Money, moving from a class 10 rating to a 9.
“That is mainly because of the water supply,” Norwood said. “They don’t take into account ponds and those kinds of water sources.”
He said his department will keep working on getting all county stations’ class rating down to help lower the cost of homeowners’ insurance.
Norwood also reported that his volunteers, since November of last year, have completed classes in emergency medical response, volunteer certification and vehicle operations certification.
He asked the board to clarify its wishes regarding when county volunteers should be called to a fire if the Greenwood Fire Department is also called. Currently, the Greenwood Fire Department is dispatched to all fires in the county within five miles of the city limits.
Norwood said that in recent months, there have been several fires, including a grass fire and a dumpster fire, about which county volunteers didn’t receive a call.
“My recommendation is that when there’s a fire in the county that falls within the Greenwood Fire Department’s call area, both county volunteers and the city be called by dispatchers,” Norwood said.
Calls are dispatched from 911, located at the Leflore County Sheriff’s Department.
After some discussion, supervisors moved to enact a board order, asking 911 to send all county calls within that five-mile boundary to both the city and county fire departments.
“If both the city and county are dispatched, who’s in charge?” asked District 5 Supervisor Robert Collins.
“Whoever gets there first,” Norwood said.
Also appearing before the board on Monday was Aubrey Whittington on behalf of the Leflore County Humane Society.
Whittington said her board has finally raised all the funds necessary to build a new animal shelter on land that belongs to the county on Baldwin Road.
“It’s taken us four to five years to be ready to build a shelter you’d be proud of,” Whittington said.
Whittington told the county board she needed legal title or some proof that the county approved building on the property in order to get a permit from the city and begin construction.
R.C. Construction will be building the new shelter, and Whittington said blueprints have been drawn up for the 6,000-square-foot facility.
Attorney Joyce Chiles said previous board minutes showing the board’s approval for building on the 4-plus-acre site should suffice.
Whittington assured the board that if, for any reason, the building or site should ever be abandoned by the Humane Society, the site would revert to the county.
In other county business:
nAngela Curry, executive director of the Greenwood-Leflore Industrial Board and the Greenwood-Leflore-Carroll Economic Development Foundation, appeared before the board to ask for approval to develop possible incentives and approve the possible purchase of property for a new but unnamed economic development project.
Following a closed executive session to discuss the project, the board approved moving forward with the request from the Economic Development Foundation and the Industrial Board.
Curry said, “We’ll let you know how things go.”
nCounty Engineer Robert Willis got the board’s approval to apply for a grant of $1 million to $15 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s BUILD program, aimed at funding road projects.
Willis said the applications are competitive and represent 100 percent funding for chosen rural projects. He will let the board know before submitting the application which county road projects will be identified in the grant proposal for possible funding. The application is due July 19.
nContact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
