Category: <span>Newsroom</span>

County supervisors from across Mississippi visited the Queen City this week for the annual Mississippi Association of Supervisors Minority Caucus convention. Throughout the three-day conference, the leaders learned about data centers and economic development, leadership and conflict resolution and recognized those who have made a difference in the community.

At a breakfast panel Wednesday, East Mississippi Business Development Corporation President and CEO Bill Hannah talked about the process in landing a $10 billion data campus investment from Compass Data Centers. Driving the deal, which ties for the largest economic development project in state history, was having a shovel-ready site and cooperation from Mississippi Power, which will supply electricity to the facility.

 

“They’re going to build these buildings over a span of about four years, and the reason they’re doing that is they’re building buildings as they get power from Mississippi Power,” he said. “Their goal is to have two buildings complete and operational by December of ’26.”

 

Joining Hannah in discussing data centers were Garrett Wright, executive director of Rankin First Economic Development Authority in Rankin County, and Pablo Diaz, president and CEO of the Vicksburg Warren Partnership in Warren County. Both are involved in data center investments in their communities as well.

 

With the boom of data centers has come concerns about the electricity and water consumption, Diaz said, but the examples cited are poor comparisons to what is being brought to Mississippi’s communities today. An Amazon data center planned for Warren County will be air cooled 91% of the time, he said.

 

“Even though everybody is very scared of stories that they might have read about cases in Virginia, cases in New York, it’s not the same,” he said. “A data center in 2026, especially coming from a company like Amazon, is a very different animal than the data centers of 10 years ago or 15 years ago.”

 

The data centers being built in Lauderdale County will also be air cooled, Hannah said, and the Mississippi Public Service Commission oversees electricity rates to make sure costs don’t get too high.

 

Wright said the data center project in Rankin County will be water cooled, but the project’s needs won’t require any additional capacity from the water system. Planned upgrades to the system, which predate the data center, are more than enough to supply water needed to keep equipment cool.

All three economic development officials emphasized the importance of site preparation, having shovel-ready locations with utilities ready for companies to come in and build what they need.

 

“I would certainly encourage you to focus on site development, to focus on making sure you’re working on those industrial parks, on those sites, that you have your data available so you can actually react to these opportunities when they come along,” Diaz said.

 

Supervisors also heard from Lauderdale County Judge Veldore Young Graham, who serves as a county court and youth court judge. She encouraged visiting officials to put the interests of their communities ahead of personal gain, advocate for the people and institutions in the community and be agents of change bringing opportunities to their constituents.

 

“You are a problem solver. You’re the overseer. You cannot give up,” she said. “You can get tired, but you can’t give up, and you’ve got to show up.”

 

Graham also spoke about youth court and its role in handling delinquency cases, issues of child abuse or abandonment and dependency cases, where a child no longer has a legal guardian. In Mississippi, she said, state law gives cities the option of having a youth court, but it is mandatory for counties.

 

Being the elected officials responsible for funding youth courts throughout the state, Graham encouraged supervisors to visit their youth courts and learn more about their role in the community, their needs and how county resources allocated to youth courts are put to use.

 

“Go spend some time in your youth court. As a supervisor, go sit in for a morning or an afternoon and hear and see what is going on in your community,” she said. “That’s the only way you’re going to know what’s going on and what you can do to help.”

 

During Wednesday’s lunch the Minority Caucus also recognized four longtime Meridianites for their contributions to the community. The Community Legends Luncheon recognized Boys and Girls Club of East Mississippi Executive Director Ricky Hood, longtime teacher and community advocate Melba Clark-Payne, Dr. Ronnye Purvis, who delivered almost 18,000 babies throughout his medical career, and the honorable Rev. Bishop W.C. Brown, who has served as pastor at Fifth Street Baptist Church for more than 40 years.

Lauderdale County residents can take part in making their community better as the county Road and Bridge Department rolls out a Citizen Engagement Portal.

 

Through the portal, residents can report issues such as damage to roads, drainage issues, signage needs and other non-emergency maintenance requests. The online portal is open to residents anytime and can be accessed from either a smartphone or computer. Once a work order is submitted, residents can track its progress through the Citizen Engagement Portal to see where it is in the process of being addressed.

 

Road Manager Rush Mayatt said the portal, which uses the IWorq software platform, is a way for residents to report issues directly to the Road Department to be resolved.

 

In years past, residents have reported drainage, road and other issues through their county supervisor or someone they know in the Road Department, Mayatt said. While that can work, it takes time to get to a point where a work order is generated and can be delayed by misplaced notes, busy schedules or forgetfulness.

 

“The more you can get away from those type things and people have a way of inputting that stuff, the better off we’ll be, the less work we’ll miss, the more efficient I think we’ll be and so on,” he said. “So that’s kind of the whole thought process behind the Citizen Portal.”

 

Mayatt said the Road and Bridge Department, for a long time, also depended on written work orders and old-fashioned paperwork to dictate day-to-day tasks, but it too has moved to the IWorq platform to streamline the department’s efforts. The platform tracks hours on equipment, materials used, labor costs and more, he said, and can be used to plan maintenance on vehicles, assess when it’s time to roll equipment over, and look up previous work done on county roads.

 

“It’s a very useful tool if used correctly,” he said.

 

As part of their submission, residents will be asked to provide their name, email, phone number, a description of the issue they’re reporting and a location/address of the problem. The more detail residents can provide, the easier it is for Road Department crews to find the source of the issue and determine what needs to be done to address it, Mayatt said. Residents can also upload photos with their submission, he said, which can be very helpful.

 

“It truly is a resource for the citizens to use, to be more convenient and to ultimately make us more efficient,” he said. “I hope, as time progresses, people continue to use it more and more, and I think ultimately it’ll be just that. It’ll make us better.”

 

Residents can access the portal at lauderdalecounty.portal.iworq.net or through the Road Department’s website or social media.

MERIDIAN, Miss. – A high-energy weekend of events anchored by the Wings Over Meridian Air Show generated a significant boost for tourism and the local economy in Meridian and Lauderdale County.

 

With multiple events taking place across the community, Wings Over Meridian weekend drew 43,900 spectators for the air show and resulted in hotel occupancy rates exceeding 82% over the three-day period, a strong indicator of increased overnight stays and visitor spending. Local hotels, restaurants, and retail businesses all experienced heightened activity, driven largely by out-of-town guests.

 

In addition to the air show, the Mississippi Mahjong Tournament welcomed 160 participants, bringing in competitors and supporters from across the region. Meanwhile, downtown Meridian saw hundreds gather for Jet Jam, a Friday night concert organized by the Arts and Community Events Society featuring Standing Still: A Tribute to Elton John, adding to the vibrant atmosphere and contributing to increased foot traffic for local businesses.

 

“It was an exceptional weekend for Meridian and Lauderdale County,” said Laura Carmichael, executive director of Visit Meridian Tourism. “With strong hotel occupancy, diverse events, and visitors traveling in from outside the area, we saw a meaningful economic impact that benefits our entire community.”

 

Tourism officials note that weekends like this not only generate immediate revenue but also elevate Meridian’s visibility as a destination capable of hosting multiple large-scale events simultaneously. The success of Wings Over Meridian weekend reinforces the community’s growing reputation for delivering engaging experiences that attract visitors and drive economic growth.

 

Another surge in visitors to the Queen City is expected this weekend as thousands attend The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience’s annual Sipp & Savor event Saturday. The yearly celebration brings together some of the region’s brightest culinary minds and masterful mixologists for an evening of fun benefitting the arts and cultural museum.

 

For more information about upcoming events and attractions in Meridian and Lauderdale County, visit www.visitmeridian.com.

More than 100 elected officials from Mississippi’s 82 counties are in Meridian this week as the Mississippi Association of Supervisors Minority Caucus hosts its annual conference in the Queen City. The yearly gathering kicked off Tuesday afternoon with opening remarks at the MSU Riley Center.

 

Lauderdale County Supervisor Joe Norwood welcomed visiting supervisors and encouraged them to take full advantage of Meridian’s museums, restaurants and other features while they are in town.

 

“We are happy to have y’all here. We just want to make sure that you enjoy yourself while you’re here, learn something while you’re here and make a great contribution to our economy,” he said. “And we’ll return that when we come to your perspective place.”

 

Supervisor Josh Todd also welcomed the visiting officials and said the county hopes this will be the first of many events the Minority Caucus will hold in Meridian.

 

“If y’all need anything, please let us know. Please enjoy this beautiful city and our county, and we welcome you all.”

 

Meridian Mayor Percy Bland also welcomed supervisors and encouraged the Minority Caucus to return to Meridian for next year’s conference as well.

 

The MAS Minority Caucus Conference is scheduled to run through Thursday afternoon with supervisors attending a number of panels and presentations on topics ranging from leadership and conflict resolution to data centers.

 

“Y’all are here to make decisions on you all’s counties, so y’all take some of these good ideas that you’re going to learn back to your communities,” Bland said.

Mississippi Public Service Commissioner De’Keither Stamps received a warm welcome Monday as he presented the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors with a check for more than $7.2 million. The funds come from taxes on public utilities that are overseen by the statewide commission.

Stamps, who represents the central district on the commission, said the PCS wears a number of different hats, including roles in governing utilities, promoting economic development and general problem solving. The commission’s main goal, he said, is to make sure utilities are paying their fair share.

“Our number one job is making sure that each county and city receives the appropriate amount of resources. From the utility companies for the investment that they’ve made inside of your county,” he said.

Over the past few years, Stamps said, the Public Service Commission has worked with Lauderdale County to connect the county’s industrial parks to power, gas, water, sewer and other utilities. Those utilities are the building blocks of economic growth, he said.

While it is occasionally excluded from Mississippi’s metropolitan areas, Lauderdale County is one of the state’s most populous regions, and fostering growth and development is good for everyone, Stamps said, and the PSC wants to support that growth wherever possible.

“Keep up the great work. We’ve got a lot more great things to do,” he said.

Supervisors thanked Stamps for visiting and for bringing the funding to Lauderdale County.

Supervisor Joe Norwood said the Board of Supervisors meets on the first and third Mondays of each month, and Stamps is welcome back anytime.

Lauderdale County’s financial picture is looking bright, according to a draft of the fiscal year 2024 audit. County officials met Friday with representatives from the Mississippi State Auditor’s office to review the audit results and discuss the county’s financial picture.

Beth Stuart from the State Auditor’s office said the best opinion a county can get on an audit is “unmodified,” and Lauderdale County reached that level on all but one metrics the audit measured. That includes an audit of federal dollars spent as part of the American Rescue Plan Act funds, she said.

“If the county has over $750,000 of federal expenditures in a given fiscal year, then we have to audit that,” she said.

The metric not found to be unmodified isn’t due to any error but instead because the county doesn’t include Lauderdale County Tourism and Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library in its financial reports. Stuart said the finding is due to that lack of data, not anything the county did wrong.

In fiscal year 2024, Lauderdale County spent $6.5 million in federal funding, Stuart said, with the majority coming from pandemic-era stimulus money.

“We didn’t have any findings or anything there, so it was unmodified, the best you can do,” she said.

Also raising no concerns were the county’s use of emergency and sole source purchases.

Emergency purchases are allowed when going through the usual procurement process, which usually takes several weeks, isn’t feasible. Broken pipes or HVAC systems, storm damage and other similar, unplanned incidents are examples of situations where emergency purchases can be needed.

Sole source purchases are made when the county needs specific equipment only available through one vendor, such as body and vehicle dash cameras for the Sheriff’s Department or proprietary parts for large machines at the Road Department.

One area of improvement identified by auditors was the need for proper bonding. Several county positions required to be bonded were either not bonded or rolled together under blanket bonds.

Supervisors, clerks and other county positions are required to have surety bonds, which act as a kind of insurance for taxpayers against wrongdoing. In the event of fraud or other misuse of public money, the bond protects both the county and taxpayers from losing their money.

County Financial Analyst Kaylee Ward said it’s likely an issue with the paperwork and not the actual bonds. In years past, bond confirmation documents have gone to individuals’ homes instead of the courthouse, creating a situation where a county employee is properly bonded but records are incomplete.

“There may be a few that aren’t actually bonded, but most of them are,” she said.

Auditors said the insurance company that issued the bonds should be able to confirm who is and isn’t bonded. Once the proper paperwork is filed, those findings will be resolved.

County Administrator Chris Lafferty said the county can work toward having all bonding documentation sent to the courthouse so that it can be filed properly going forward.

“Maybe moving forward our practice is no matter what we have them mailed here,” he said.

The Lauderdale County Animal Control Shelter on Thursday gratefully accepted a donation in memory of Donna Jill Johnson, who faithfully served the citizens of Lauderdale County in the Circuit Clerk’s Office for more than 32 years.

 

In lieu of flowers, friends and colleagues chose to honor Johnson’s life by contributing to a cause that was near and dear to her heart. Through their generosity, a total of $600 was raised and shared between the City of Meridian Animal Control Shelter and the Lauderdale County Animal Control Shelter.

 

Those wishing to honor her legacy include the Lauderdale County Tax Assessor’s and Collector’s Offices, Lakeisha Jackson, Shuntavia Pickett, Que Willis, Shannon Campbell, Michael Martin, Donna Googe, Sandy Rainer, Ava Wilson, Tina Moore, Nikita Wilkins, Wykisha Burton, Joyce Jernigan, Alesia Baylor, Suzanne Youngblood, Vicki Lashane, Jim Burton, Cory Griffin, Brennan Ward, Lisa Palmer, Erich Jerscheid, Awana Simmons, Carla Manley, Heather Miles, Kate Martin, and Renee Covert.

 

Lauderdale County Animal Control Director Rocky Rockette said the funds will go toward carrying the mission of the shelter forward and helping as many animals as possible.

 

“To everyone who gave, please know that your contributions will help us continue our mission of doing what we can for as many as we can, all while honoring the legacy of Ms. Donna Jill,” he said. “Thank you all for your continued support of the Lauderdale County Animal Control Shelter.”

 

Brian McCary, director of Meridian Animal Control, said Johnson was enthusiastic about helping the cats that come through the city shelter, and the city’s portion of the donations will be put toward the shelter’s cat program in her honor.

 

“Donna’s heart was all about cats. She touched hundreds of lives here at the City of Meridian animal shelter with donations throughout the years to have cat spay and neutered,” McCary said. Community cats, cats that didn’t belong to anybody, cats that didn’t have anybody that cared for them except for Donna Jill. This donation will be set aside to strictly go to that community cat program. We are beyond grateful for every donation we receive, but this one is just a little bit sweeter to me.”