By Rupert Howell

City officials agreed to repair a gaping hole in the road near Tri-Lakes Medical Center at Tuesday’s meeting of the Batesville mayor and board of aldermen.

Recent heavy rains caused extensive erosion next to a water line under a street near hospital property. Engineer Blake Mendropp estimated cost to repair at $11,000 and alderman Teddy Morrow asked for two estimates from contractors in case the city preferred to hire the job done instead of using city crews.

Plastic pipe used in part of the drainage network is thought to have caused part of the washing problem.

Mendropp  said he realized there were other drainage issues near the hospital site to address at another time.

Tri-Lakes CEO Wes Sigler was present during Tuesday’s meeting, talking with individual board members after the issue was discussed, but did not officially address the board.

In the same area, Alderman Stan Harrison questioned Mendropp about how long it would take to construct the proposed road connecting House – Carlson Drive and Pine Lodge Road.

Mendropp predicted six months but was hesitant to say without start date or work schedule. Panola County is partnering with the city and will do much of the dirt work.

During departmental reports, Civic Center Director Roy Hyde assured aldermen that the RV lot planned for the center would be on the far west. The city is also seeking county assistance on that project.

Waste Water Treatment Plant Superintendent David Karr sought approval of a quote for repairs to the plant’s lagoon levees from Evans Sand and Gravel, explaining that their quote was considerably less than the $22,069.16 quote from Panola County.

Karr also thanked the board for their involvement with the Mississippi Municipal League who presented his son with a Municipal League scholarship. He will be a freshman at Jones Junior College.

Police Chief Tony Jones received permission to hire Nicholas Johnson following an executive session after aldermen voted to close the session to outsiders.

During that session board members also voted to accept  North Delta Planning and Development District’s recommendation to approve a revolving loan for Johnson Construction Company for $48,000 based on collateral offered.

Also during that meeting, Fire Chief Tim Taylor asked a correction be made to a salary for an individual in his department that should have been another amount.
When the board went back into open session, Taylor informed aldermen that a house fire on Trianon late Sunday afternoon was “significant.”

He said cause of the blaze was thought to be lightening and noted that one firefighter had been overcome by heat, was given IV fluids, transported to Tri-Lakes where he was treated and released.

That conversation led board members on to a discussion of where the city stands with replacing a fire truck that would serve rural areas outside the city’s limits.

A conversation of how much the city and county would pay has gone back and forth until no one at Tuesday’s meeting was sure how much the county was willing to pay.

Taylor was questioned about ratings bureau’s rules that require municipalities to replace aging vehicles although they are still operable. Taylor explained that insurance companies offering rebates and lower rates were the driving force behind keeping up-to-date equipment.

Taylor has been notified that ratings will drop if the truck currently used for out-of-city fires is not replaced. That need for replacement comes at a time when another pumper is being replaced, causing city officials to question just how much of the expense the city needs to bear on a pumper to be used outside its limits.

Taylor was directed to get updated figures and Taylor and Mayor Jerry Autrey are to meet with Panola County’s board of supervisors to again measure the county’s commitment.