Sardis aldermen got a lecture Tuesday night about their failure to increase support for the Panola Partnership while the economic development organization has promoted multiple projects that benefit the city.

Panola Partnership Chief Executive Officer Sonny Simmons spoke to city officials at their first Tuesday meeting. Partnership president Steve Shideler accompanied Simmons to the meeting.

Simmons had spoken to city officials during their annual budgeting meeting in September and requested an increase of $350 monthly from $150 to $500.

“I was really shocked … that this small request was not honored by this board,” Simmons told the mayor and alderman after he recited a number of projects the Partnership had promoted in Sardis.

Projects included recruiting Steelmatic for the old Air Kontrol building and then securing $200,000 in grant money to update electrical wiring to make the building acceptable, Simmons said.

“That took $60,000 worth of debt service off this city,” Simmons said. “You were paying a little over $5,000 a month for that building with no money coming in,” he continued, reminding city officials of the quandary Sardis faced when the former occupant of the city-owned building went out of business.

The Partnership used $50,000 of its own as matching funds to secure an additional $350,000 in Community Development Block Grant money to build a rail spur that will allow an expansion at United Solutions in the Sardis Industrial Park, Simmons said.

“Then on the Sardis Lake project, we’ve spent money there also, the Partnership CEO said. “Our Partnership board authorized us to spend $10,000 of Partnership money to do a feasibility study on your behalf,” Simmons continued. The Partnership also paid airfare for a representative from the City of Sardis to visit Washington about the Lake Project in June and has recently located a manufacturing operation for the old Coke building, Simmons continued.

“If you’re going to support us, we need to know it,” Simmons said.

“If there was any way for us at that time to give you more money we would have. Period,” Ward 3 alderman Mike Wilson said.

“I think when we get to looking at it that if there’s any increase Panola Partnership is one of the ones we need to increase,” Alderman JoJo Still said.

“Not to say that we’re not going to continue to work hard for the entire county, that’s our job, but what I was asking for was what each one of you gets paid individually per month — $500,” Simmons said. “It wouldn’t help our efforts out tremendously,” he continued, “but it does show that you support our efforts, and that’s the reason we asked for the increase.”

Simmons had also sought reimbursement from the city for airline tickets that allowed Sardis Mayor Rusty Dye to join a delegation from the county, the City of Batesville and the Partnership on trips in the spring and again in the fall to lobby Mississippi’s Congressional delegation.

The tickets were purchased by the Partnership in one transaction to allow cost savings and schedule coordination, Simmons said, with the expectation that the Partnership would be reimbursed.

As an apparent result of a disagreement between the mayor and several aldermen, aldermen have excluded reimbursement for the tickets in recent months when they have voted to pay the list of claims.

Tuesday night’s discussion included the reading of an attorney general’s opinion by city attorney Tommy Shuler that stated travel expenses had to be approved in advance.

Still made a motion to pay the $410.90 reimbursement for spring trip. Alderman Rivers McArthur made the second, and Alderman Clarence Jones provided the third vote necessary to approve the motion. Aldermen Wilson and Roy Scallorn voted against.

The ticket for the fall trip was $280.90, Simmons said.

“I’ll pay that myself,” the mayor said. I made a mistake and didn’t get approval; I’ll pay it myself,” he added.

At the meeting’s end, as discussion drifted toward the possible need for a second meeting during the month, Alderman Still revisited the question.

In other business, Jerry Goodnight asked aldermen to resolve a dispute about the zoning of his property east. Goodnight was cited for residential use of property zoned commercial. Goodnight said that he went through the procedure in 2000 and that the property was inspected by Robert Earl Wilkie who then served as city inspector.

Dye said that a search of city records produced no record of the rezoning. The city officials asked Goodnight to make application for for the property to be rezoned.

“I did that nine years ago and they can’t find the records,” Goodnight said later.

Medstat EMS officials told the mayor and aldermen the ambulance service needs a new Sardis home. Company president Barry Eskridge told city officials that the old police station could be suitably adapted for about $15,000. If the city approved the use, the remodeling would be at Medstat’s expense, Eskridge said.

However, the Medstat official said that shortly before the meeting started he had been made aware of another facility which might be available and suitable as-is.

Eskridge also said that the company’s search for new Sardis quarters may have created apprehension that the service might move out of town. “Don’t anybody think we’re going anywhere,” Eskridge said.