‘Enough to Start'
After years of effort, bids for the reconstruction and improvement of Blackjack Road arrived at the end of January.
Oktibbeha County Supervisors were presented with four bids to repair and widen the road during their Monday meeting by County Engineer Clyde Pritchard.
The lowest bid came in at approximately $7.2 million while the highest bid was roughly $10.3 million.
Pritchard said his estimate for the cost of the project was $7.9 million, noting how unusual it was for a bid to come in under an engineering estimate.
“We rarely, if ever, see that,” Pritchard said
The contracting company who made the lowest bid, Maben-based Site Masters Construction, raised alarms with some Supervisors as complaints, as well as a lawsuit, have emerged from projects done by the company in the past.
Board Attorney Rob Roberson reminded Supervisors they were not obligated to accept the lowest bid if they had reason to believe it would cause problems down the road.
“If there is a reason, an articulable reason, that you're not using a particular low bid, based on problems, based on a situation, I would advise you to pick the lowest and best bid that you feel comfortable with,” Roberson said.
Due to the importance of the Blackjack Road project, District 5 Supervisor Joe Williams wondered if it was wise to gamble on a company that had been unreliable in the past.
Supervisors looked to the second lowest bid, which came from Columbus-based Burns Dirt Construction and was about $8 million.
Pritchard said he had much more experience working with Burns than Site Masters.
“I don't know if I can count all the work they have done,” Pritchard
Austin identified the inmate.
At least 15 inmates have died in Mississippi prisons since late December, most of them at Parchman. Many of them were killed in outbursts of violence. Two inmates died by hanging, and prison officials said one of those was alone in a cell with the lock jammed from the inside. A Department of Corrections statement said the other hanging appeared to be a suicide.
Violence is a recurring problem in Mississippi prisons, where many jobs for guards are unfilled. Health department inspections also show Parchman has longstanding problems with broken sinks and toilets in cells, holes in cell walls, widespread mold and mildew in showers and sanitation problems in kitchens.
More than 30 Parchman inmates are plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit that says understaffed prisons are “plagued by violence” and inmates are forced to live in decrepit and dangerous conditions.
Gov. Tate Reeves said in his State of the State speech Jan. 27 that he has told the Department of Corrections to take steps to shut down Parchman's Unit 29, but the department has not said how long that will take.
The department's interim commissioner, Tommy Taylor, said after Reeves' speech that inmates in Unit 29 have clean water to drink and warm water for showers. He said some inmates had not been allowed to shower for several days while prisons were on lockdown because of the violence. He said those no longer on lockdown have had a chance to shower and have been given new clothes.
Taylor also said toilets have been repaired, and crews are patching holes that allowed rain into buildings. He said workers are also repairing problems with electrical systems and heating.