The Lafayette County Board of Supervisors held their first meeting of the month Monday evening, where they discussed such topics as waste management and changes to subdivision plats.

The meeting began with the introduction of Meredith Wickham, the new director of First Regional Library System, which covers Lafayette, DeSoto, Tate, Tunica and Panola Counties. Wickham, who worked in the private sector before joining the library system, said she looks forward to working with county officials to improve local libraries.

“In my working life in libraries, I’ve always had good relationships with my boards,” she said. ”Return on investment matters a lot to me. I consider the taxpayer money to be the highest fiduciary duty you can have, so I really care a lot about that when I’m managing my libraries.”

In 2015, Wickham was selected by the American Library Association as an emerging leader. Prior to her new director position, she spent two years as director of the Kemper-Newton Regional Library System.

The supervisors also approved plat amendments for eight different lots in phase one of The Lakes subdivision, located off Highway 6 East on County Road 415. The lots in question were 199, 200, 377, 378, 300 and 310, as well as the combination of lots 178 and 179.

County inspector Joel Hollowell said the owners of the lots in question were aware of necessary amendments to the plat before purchasing their properties.

“It’s my understanding that each one of these lots were surveyed and sold to each individual with the understanding that these amendments were going to take place,” Hollowell said. “The amendments should have taken place much earlier, but they didn’t, so this is basically one more part of the plat that needed to be taken care of.”

District 1 supervisor Kevin Frye said, based on conversations he had prior to the meeting, the amendments were not a point of contention for The Lakes management.

“My understanding is that everyone has agreed,” Frye said. “I’ve talked to the HOA president, and their homeowner’s association had no objections as this is a private matter between the lot owners.”

Another point of discussion that affects both Lafayette and Pontotoc Counties was the adoption of a resolution to amend the ordinance requiring the mandatory flow of solid waste to Three Rivers Solid Waste Management Authority facility in Pontotoc County.  

According to county attorney David O’Donnell, this resolution concerns the county’s flow control ordinance, particularly medical waste within the waste management system.

“This [resolution] would exempt medical waste generated out of state but treated in here Lafayette County,” O’Donnell said. “Currently the Three Rivers Landfill is not permitted to accept out-of-state waste, even though the out-of-state waste is being treated in Lafayette County. So they asked that we amend our ordinance to reflect that.”

The supervisors also approved a modification of the Three Rivers Solid Waste Management Plan in regards to expanding the service area of the North Mississippi Recycling Solutions Facility, subject to approval by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

The final order of business concerned considering bids for the new Business Complex and Arena to be built near Lafayette County Schools. The supervisors chose to discuss this matter in an executive session, but according to Frye, more information will be available later this week or early next week.

The next meeting of the Lafayette County Supervisors will be held on March 19 at 8 a.m.