A county supervisor isn’t pleased with the progress of site preparation for the Tate County Fire Training facility in Senatobia.
District 4 Supervisor Zander Billingsley voiced his frustration to county engineer Kevin McLeod at the board’s monthly meeting earlier this month and as reported in the March 11 issue of the Tate Record.
“We gave you and the contractor a list of several things we are not happy with and wanted fixed,” Billingsley said. “I believe only about 25 percent of that has been completed from my observation.”
In 2025, Tate County leaders approved the construction of a fire and first responder training center on six acres at the southwest corner of Shands Bottom Road and Scott Street using portion of a $3.5 million state grant designated for purchasing firefighting and emergency response equipment.
The modular facility will consist of six 40-foot-long steel container-based simulators which will house propane gas burn rooms, smoke rooms, interior and exterior stairways, movable interior walls to allow for virtually unlimited floorplans and training scenarios, a rappelling station and other simulation props for training.
“Whether it’s an engineering issue or a contractor issue, I don’t know,” Billingsley said. “The site is holding more water than Arkabutla Dam right now and it’s ridiculous.”
McLeod presented two contractor’s change orders for work in preparing the site – one for $695.50 and another for $22,933.35 – for supervisors’ approval but they unanimously denied the requests.
“In Phase 2, which we just advertised last week, the water line is going to be left in place, and we are going to adjust the grade of the site in the area that holds water so when new pipe is put in…it will drain” McLeod explained. “That is outside this contractor’s scope of work.”
“So, you’re happy with the pipe he put in? Billingsley asked.
“The pipe he put in the ditch in the corner is fine,” said McLeod. “What I am upset with is that he never came back to backfill the ditch so it would drain,”.
“Correct. So why would we pay him if he didn’t do what he was supposed to?” Billingsley responded. “That’s my issue. If we pay him, we will never get him back. It’s not right and, in my opinion, the sight looks terrible.”
Billingsley made the motion not to pay the two change orders and recommended McLeod set up a meeting between the contractor and supervisors to discuss grievances with the project.
Supervisors did approve McLeod’s request to advertise for bids to relocate Getwell Drive – the sole traffic artery from Norfleet Drive to Highland Hills Medical Center.
McLeod said the design is in the early stages but will include removing one of the two curves in Getwell Drive and moving the street approximately 115 feet north of its current location.
In other business, supervisors approved the following:
• Circuit clerk and election commissioner claims for services for purging poll books (Wooten-$1100.00, Johnston-$990.00, Dowl-$990.00, Blount-$990.00 and
K. Blount-$660.00).
• Monthly credit card report for the previous month.
•Comparative budget report for the previous month.
• Payroll claim of $2,775.00 for 15 completed reports for Coroner Ernie Lentz.
• Payroll claim of $555.00 for three completed reports for Deputy Coroner Whitney Nickels.
• Payroll claim of $370.00 for two completed reports for Deputy Coroner Jeffrey Sowell.
• Travel (including registration, mileage, meals, and lodging if necessary) for board of supervisors and county administrator to attend 2026 Tate County Council of Governments trip in Jackson March 4-5.
• Travel (including registration, mileage, meals, and lodging if necessary) for Tate County Solid Waste Manager Junior Flippo to attend 2026 Mississippi SWANA Spring Conference in Biloxi May 18-22.
• Travel (including registration, mileage, meals, and lodging if necessary) for Supervisor Tony Sandridge Supervisor to attend 2026 MAS Minority Caucus annual meeting in Meridian April 6-10.
• Travel (including registration, mileage, meals, and lodging if necessary) for board of supervisors to attend 2026 Mississippi Association of Planning and Development District’s annual conference in Biloxi April 20-25.
• Solid waste account refund of $60.00 to Angela Chrestman.
• Travel (including registration, mileage, if necessary) for Sheldon Perkins to attend Building Relationships Class in Horn Lake March 27.
