The Leflore County Board of Supervisors is split on whether, given the economy, it is the right time to be playing around.
District 3 Supervisor Preston Ratliff’s motion to buy playground equipment for A-Mc’s Park in Schlater failed by a 3-2 vote.
Ratliff is recommending the addition of equipment totaling $10,094 including an adjustable basketball hoop, a merry-go-round and another piece of equipment called a “Round We Go.”
Ratliff said he has been proposing the equipment for a year. He told District 2 Supervisor Robert Moore that he thought it could be up by spring if approved Monday.
“We have approved a lot of projects without any estimation of their cost,” Ratliff said. “But when it comes to regular folk, we can’t seem to get a project to pass with an estimate.”
Ratliff purchased a piece of equipment for the park with his own money a year ago in the hope that the board would approve the purchase of more items.
“I think it is important to get for the people who don’t get much,” Ratliff said.
Moore was the only other supervisor who voted in support of the purchase. District 1 Supervisor Phil Wolfe, District 5’s Robert Collins and District 4’s Wayne Self all voted no.
“I did not vote against it thinking that they shouldn’t get it,” Collins said. “I voted against it because we don’t know what the economy is going to do.”
Collins said there was a $100,000 grant dedicated to improving the park in Schlater and he believes the county should wait for it to be completed before making the purchase.
“It’s nothing personal,” Collins said. “I wouldn’t vote against something that was good for Leflore County. Now is just not the time to be spending money on playground equipment.”
Ratliff said he has been waiting on the grant for too long and thinks the people of Schlater deserve the equipment sooner.
“I have voted for projects in other parts of the county that are good for the whole county,” he said. “I would think if someone one was a team player he could get some support from the others.”
Ratliff said he would continue to put the park items on the agenda until the purchase was approved or they found a way to keep him from putting it on the agenda.
“I think he will keep bringing it up,” Collins said. “And I think eventually it will pass.”
Also on Monday, the board:
- Took a contract with Environmental Business Services for a landfill project under advisement until language in the contract was satisfactory to both the board and the contractor.
- Reappointed Joyce Chiles as board attorney.
- Approved the employment of Deniedra Latrice Johnson as deputy for the tax collector office. The position was previously filled by a temporary employee.
- Approved the employment of Jeanet Long as a temporary employee at the Leflore County Civic Center upon approval of the Civic Center’s board. Director Andrew McQueen said the position needed to be filled quickly.
County jobs
The Leflore County Board of Supervisors appointed the following positions with the accompanied salaries on Monday:
Director of emergency management: T.W. Cooper, $42,000
Safety and zoning officer: David Fondren, $38,931.12
Fire coordinator: Gary Fulgham, $37,500
Assistant purchase clerk: Mary Hicks, $2,641.08
Justice Court clerk: Larresia Hunt, $30,744.36
Purchase clerk: Becky Kwong, $30,462.84
Receiving clerk: Cathy Mai, $1,800
Inventory and insurance clerk: Martha Massey, $31,586.28
Director of Civic Center: Andrew McQueen, $53,599.56
Solid waste manager: Sid Peacock, $42,900
Veterans service officer: Marsh Pickett, $18,000
Maintenance manager:: Ted Turner, $34,500
Justice Court public defender: Neysha Sanders, $14,556
Road manager: Lennon Powell, $54,550.92
Assistant road manager: Jerry Smith, $37,845
Road foreman: M.J. McMullen, $31,746
Road foreman: Sam Hodge, $31,746
Road foreman: Eugene McLemore, $31,746
Road foreman: Henry Seals, $31,746
County Court administrator: Thelma Donley, $39,999.96
Leflore County public defender: Whitman Mounger, $16,800 ($2,400 for secretarial expenses)
Youth Court prosecutor: Neysha Sanders, $16,800 ($2,400 for secretarial expenses)
Guardian ad litem: Watosa Sanders, $9,600
Record preservation: Sam Abraham, $48,000
Chancery Court indexing:Abraham, $48,000
Homestead service: Abraham, as allowed by law
Comptroller:Abraham, $24,000
Record preservation: Trey Evans, $48,000
County registrar: Evans, $20,700
