City, county leaders look to revive partnership
Apr. 17—Meridian and Lauderdale County leaders are taking the first steps toward revitalizing a long neglected partnership between the two governments and looking to see what they might be able to accomplish together.
In a meeting of the Meridian City Council Tuesday, Lauderdale County Supervisors Joe Norwood Sr. and Craig Houston encouraged the council to consider opportunities where cooperation can benefit both city and county residents.
Norwood said the city and county have worked together in the past to demolish condemned structures, clean up dump sites and more. The county has been called on to help with beautification efforts ahead of previous Meridianite Picnics, he said, and has been asked to help again ahead of this year's picnic as well.
Community Development Director Craig Hitt said his department has been talking with the county about potentially using county resources to demolish 20 additional condemned buildings throughout the city. The City Council in November 2023 approved 40 buildings for demolition by a private contractor, and the 20 buildings will be in addition to those, Hitt said.
Before any cooperative effort can move forward, however, the city and county will need to formalize the partnership through an interlocal agreement. Such agreements spell out each party's responsibilities and are required to be approved by both governing boards and the Secretary of State's office before any work can be done.
"We have been told that the previous interlocal agreement, the timeline has run out on it," Hitt said. "It appears we will need a new interlocal agreement between the city and the county to address this."
Norwood said county supervisors aren't opposed to helping the city where they can, but the work must be done legally. To make that happen, he said, an interlocal agreement is necessary.
"It's not that we don't want to do it, have the time or money to do it," he said. "It's just the fact that if you have interest in having us as a county helping you remove structures and other things like that, there is certain paperwork we need to be doing."
Houston, who joined the county Board of Supervisors in January and has been advocating for greater cooperation between the city and county, said working together is what is best for the citizens.
"I just think we could do so much more as a team," he said. "When one grows, we all grow."
Code Enforcement officer Terrell Thompson presented the 20 buildings his department would like to see demolished in a public hearing following the supervisors' comments, which are located in Wards 5, 4 and 2. Many of the buildings included on the list have been in the condemnation process for some time but haven't been presented to the council previously due to a lack of demolition funding.
Council members approved the list of buildings for condemnation in a unanimous vote and tasked City Attorney Will Simmons with beginning the process of drawing up a new interlocal agreement to present to the county.
Contact Thomas Howard at thoward@themeridianstar.com
