By By Sheila Blackmon/The Meridian Star
Dec. 5, 2000
Lauderdale supervisors Monday delayed purchasing the rest of the land needed for a new industrial park area located at the intersection of Interstates 20/59, U.S. 45 and U.S. 11/80.
The board was expected to exercise options to purchase land owned by Johnny R. Morgan and Ronnie D. Massey at a regular meeting Monday. Had they done so, they would have been one parcel away from owning all the land for the proposed site.
District 2 Supervisor Jimmie Smith said the certificate will also prohibit the Lauderdale County Economic Development District from selling the industrial park property for less than the average of what they paid for it.
Supervisors purchased a 314-acre parcel from Four-M Ranch of which William J. Van Devender is the sole member for $2.4 million late last month.
The 216 acres of land supervisors considered purchasing Monday includes all remaining parcels of the 630 acres they want to buy out of the $4.25 million in general obligation bonds except for one 100-acre parcel still under negotiation.
Smith, who is on a committee with District 5 Supervisor Ray Boswell to negotiate land prices, said the option supervisors had on the parcel is now invalid.
Smith would not say why the old option is invalid.
Supervisors scheduled a special meeting Friday at 9 a.m. to approve the request for the certificate. Barry said the options supervisors have on the remaining parcels don't expire until the end of the year. They are expected to approve the purchases they didn't approve Monday at next regular meeting on Dec. 18.
Sheila Blackmon is a staff writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail her at sblackmon@themeridianstar.com.