The Pearl River County Board of Supervisors met Monday following the start of the new fiscal year.

Board President Sandy Kane Smith was absent so Board Vice President Hudson Holliday presided over the meeting.

The Board approved a yearly clothing allowance of $4,000 for investigators with the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department.

The Board also approved a $39,000 contract extension for the year with ABL management, Inc., which manages the food in the jail.

Sheriff David Allison said that equates to about 10 cents per meal.

The Board also approved the purchase of two new air conditioning units at the jail at a cost of about $13,000.

County Administrator Adrain Lumpkin said the units needed new compressors and are currently running at half capacity.

County Engineer Les Dungan presented the Board with bids for two county projects.

The first, STP/BR 0132(5)B, a state aid project, was awarded to the lowest bidder, Magco, Inc. for $1.187 million.

Dungan said his past experience with the company leads him to believe they will do a good job.

He said the project is estimated to begin in the next 45 days and will involve some temporary road closures.

The second bid the Board awarded was for the repair of a storm drain on Poplarville’s Main Street.

The project was awarded to Holliday Construction, LLC for $128,059.

Holliday abstained from the vote and said the company belongs to one of his relatives.

Dungan said both bidders said it would take five days to complete, but were originally allotted 15 calendar days.

Dungan also said the boat ramp improvements at Walkiah Bluff were completed and the Board issued final payment and paperwork has been submitted to the state for partial reimbursement.

Dungan announced he will receive bids on Thursday for the wastewater treatment system at the Walkiah Bluff campgrounds.

In a separate matter, a large number of accidents have occurred as vehicles exit Interstate 59 via Exit 29 onto Highway 26.

As a result, he is consulting with the Mississippi Department of Transportation to increase visibility and make some improvements to the old ramp’s design, he said.

In other roadway news, the Board approved a request from County Road Manager Charlie Shielder to continue leasing four new small excavator machines at a cost of $800 per month.

Shielder said the department has been operating on a three-year lease purchase agreement that includes all maintenance on the machines.

The Board also approved a request to purchase a solar-powered message board to advertise when roadways would be closed for construction.

Shielder said the message board would cost about $11,000.

In other news, the Board:

• Approved a $1,000 bond check in Justice Court.
• Authorized a community rating system for flood insurance.
• Approved MEMA disaster reservist program.
• Signed a proclamation that October would be Domestic Violence Awareness month.
• Acknowledged the Hermitage as being registered with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
• Approved a Council on Aging memorandum of understanding.

Other matters discussed at the Board meeting will be published in Wednesday’s Item.

The next Board meeting was moved from Oct. 24 to Oct. 19.