Mayor and Board of Aldermen - Regular Meeting

this meeting to order. Please stand with us. We'll be led in prayer by Ottoman Gallagher. Please remain standing after that for the pledge of allegiance that will be led by Autumn at large George Payne. Heavenly Father, Lord, we want to come here and just thank you for this new year, Lord. A new year to to celebrate you and all the wonderful things that you've done, Lord. Lord, let us uh do everything not out of selfish ambition but uh desire to uh do your will. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [clears throat] Okay, we'll go and get started this evening. I'm going to do one thing a little different and it's in light of what uh unfortunately happened at the last city board meeting. It was something that, you know, fortunately in my 13 years, this has never happened. So, I just want to make sure I give everybody a fair chance to to be informed and understand the format of what we're doing here tonight. This is a city board meeting by state law. [clears throat]

What this is on the first and third Tuesday of every month, this is where the city handles the official business of the city. What this is not, it's not a public forum, although we do like to hear from our citizens at all times. It is not a place for political expression or debate. Uh there will be order in the meeting. State law gives me the authority. the the [snorts] people of South Haven elected me as mayor and state law gives me the authority to preside over this meeting. So, if you don't know what the word preside is, I would suggest that you Google it right now because I'm going to preside over this meeting. Okay? We're going to uh hear from the people who are registered to speak and we welcome that. But this meeting, there is going to be order in this meeting and there's not going to be shouting and speaking out. If you speak out of turn, you will be removed from the meeting. Okay? So, I want when I show up on Tuesday, it's been a long day for me. This day starts early for me on board meeting days. I've talked to a lot of people. I've done a lot of stuff. When I get here, uh my wife will tell you, I love peace. I love a peaceful meeting. And that's what I'm hopeful that we'll have tonight. But I'm telling you, if you choose to do otherwise, you will be leaving this meeting. So, I just again, I appreciate everybody's cooperation. First on the agenda is approval of minutes for the December 1625 meeting.

So move. Second. We have a motion. Alderman Hoot. Second. Alderman Payne. Is there any discussion? Hearing none. Roll call. Alderman Hay. Yes. Alderman Lewis. Yes. [snorts] H. Yes. Jerome. Yes. Yes. [clears throat] Wheeler. Yes. Flores. Yes.

That motion carries. Next on our agenda is approval for travel for the congressional briefing trip that we do. Uh we do this usually every year, if not every other year, along with other DInnesota County officials. We take a group trip to Washington DC and we have meetings with our United States senators and congress people and their aids to present issues for DInnesota County and to you know not just funding but other challenges that we have. We use uh that meeting uh to seek their help. So it's a very important meeting. It's been very productive over the years. So, we need to get authorization for travel. Um, board members, uh, we we are going to have capacity to take three board members. So, um, if y'all want to decide who those three are, but um, do we did we decide who's going or just authorized travel?

We authorize travel. Okay. So, we'll just authorize travel tonight. And if y'all will be thinking about it and talking about it and just let us know so we can let the economic council know, you know, who all will be going. So, is there a motion to approve the travel? So moved. Second. We have a motion. Bottoman Flores. Second. Bottoman Gallagher. Is there any discussion hearing? None. Roll call. Pay. Yes. Lewis. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

That motion carries. Next on our agenda is a resolution for an emergency expenditure for a traffic signal at the two-lane and Stateline Road intersection. [snorts] City attorney, Mr. Nick Manley. Uh yes, mam board. This resolution will just authorize the expenditure for the signal at uh two lane and state line as noted. Um it's um for $65,200. It'll uh authorize the expenditure along with the uh placement of the signal um at that location due the increase in traffic um and the um citizens wellbeing. So tonight need authorization for that resolution so that could begun and paid for.

So move. Second. We have a motion. Alderman Hoots, second by Alderman Payne. Is there any discussion? Hearing none. Roll call, please. Alderman Payne, yes. Alderman Lewis, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

We motion carries. Next on our agenda is a parks contract with I55 Sports. This contract with the parks department, I55 sports will authorize I-55 sports to um assist with the um umpiring and um I guess staffing for umpires for the baseball tournaments. Uh it's basically ADP for the baseball tournament umpires. Um they'll do the direct deposit to tax forms, tax reporting. Um it'll assist the city clerk's office with those uh functions as well. Um the cost should be around 23,000. Uh so tonight need the authorization for parks director to sign this contract with I55 sports. So moved. Second.

We have a motion by Alderman Flores, second by Alderman Wheeler. Is there any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor say I. I. Any oppose say no. Eyes have it. Motion carries. Next on our agenda is a Bankless Amphitheater contract. Is this contract just for the uh lease in the amphitheater for the concert on May 14th and the um letter agreement authorization night for the mayor to sign the contract for that lease? So moved. Second. We have a motion Payne, second by Alderman Wheeler. Is there any discussion? Hearing none. Roll call. Pay. Yes. [clears throat and cough] Hughes? Yes. Yes.

Yes. Yes. Go ahead. Yes, that motion carries. Next on our agenda is an item that has been tabled at the uh last um the last two meetings. So, it's the uh it's the issue of opting in to medical cannabis in the city of South Haven. So, the the um the item has been tabled. So, I'll accept a motion to untab the item. I'll make that motion. here. Second. We have a motion by alderman Payne, second by Alderman Flores. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor say I. I.

Any oppose say no. This is to discuss it. This is not to take action. So again, all in favor say I to discuss it. I Any oppose say no. Eyes have it. So it's open for discussion. So, at this point, because of the detailed discussions for over a three-year period, um I have nothing else to say about it, but we open the floor to any of the board members who would like to speak or or or take action. Make a motion to vote for it. Would vote finally to either accept or deny. Okay. So, what what is your motion? To put it to a vote. to put it to a vote,

right? Okay. Wouldn't it be simpler to you make a motion either to opt in or Well, really the only motion would be to opt in because you're already opted out. Correct. So, the person who would need to make the motion would be making a motion to opt in. All right. In accordance with the ordinance that you prepared. Yeah. The motion would be to opt in based on the ordinance. Um, and that's since we've opted out, the only thing really to do is opt in through the ordinance at this point. You see what I'm talking about? I withdraw it.

Okay. So, is there anyone who would like to opt in to the um the ordinance prepared by uh by our city attorney, Nick Manley, at this time? Okay. last time. Is there anyone who wants to opt in, wants to vote, wants to make a motion to call a vote to opt in to medical cannabis for dispensaries only? Okay. Hearing none, we'll move on. Next on the agenda is the uh the item. This was a potential uh condemnation of a property from old business. And so we want to uh make accept a motion to open that discussion again. It's the old checkers building. [clears throat]

Okay. We have a motion Bman Hoots. Second Alderman Lewis. All in favor say I. I. Any oppose say no. Eyes have it. That motion carries. So it is open for discussion again. We have our planning director, Miss Whitney Cook.

Uh yes, sir. If you will recall at the previous board meeting, we discussed two um specific sites under Mississippi Code 21911 um for the option to possibly tear them down based on structural damage or irreparable damage to the buildings. Uh this one we had a representative here that wanted a little bit more time to discuss the options with us as well. Um we weren't able to get access to the inside of the building. Uh we were able to obtain access to the building. Uh I have both fire marshal here as where as well as the building official here. It is still the recommendation at this point in time uh to have the building removed based on the fact that it is a module building that has a 20-year lifespan. It has been here 50 years plus. Um there is significant structural and exterior damage to it. Uh it is the opinion of both that uh the repair will certainly outweigh the cost of a removal and a possible replacement at some point in time. If you have any specific questions, like I said, they're both in the audience and I believe the attorney uh for Checkers is here as well. So, if you have any questions for me, also

get the reports to get the [clears throat] reports are on You should have those. Oh, there's actually a USB drive that has all the pictures for the interior space as well as the revised reports uh that Michael has on USB drive for everybody. So, we'll need those will be part of the proceedings in the minutes, those reports and those pictures um as part of consideration. Are they on the Can we see them on the screen or not? Uh, they can pull them up. They're they're on the USB drive that we have back there. There was just a lot of pictures. Uh, if you can go back all the way at the end, there's some PDFs. They're just both the letters of recommendation. So, Whitney, you have a question. Even if if the board decides to condemn and it's it's removed,

we're still at the mercy of the land owner. I mean, it's going to be an empty lot at least until a rebuild, a purchase of some sort. We do have an interested party uh on purchasing. Uh I guess the way you look at it is would you rather have an empty building on site or would you rather have a maintained empty lot on site? That's that's your two options at this point. And understand if we do condemn it tonight and say the recommendation is to tear it down, there's still a trial or not a trial period, but a waiting period for them to

figure out how they want to proceed forward as well. You know, the goal is to have them remove it and do um the cost analysis on it. It's not our intentions to do it on behalf of the city, but it it shows us it it shows our force that we're pushing forward that we're not okay with the way it it is now. So, and those are the letters. I believe that one is from uh yeah, that's going to be the building department one. Uh like I said, James Gentry is in the audience and uh he did revise it. That is the amendment to the fire right there. And it is still the recommendation of both that is just structurally so far gone that the expense to repair if it was even repairable is not worth it as it's a module building with a [clears throat] 20-year lifespan. So

did anybody else have anything to say to the uh like I said I believe the attorney is you're good nothing. Okay. No comment from him. Uh like I said if there's any further questions in detail we're we're here to provide those answers for you. Otherwise, like I said, our recommendation is to continue forward with the removal. Make a motion we accept the recommendation to condemn the property. Okay. We have a motion by Alderman Hoots to accept our fire, fire, and building officials recommendation to condemn the property. Is there a second? Second.

We have a second by Alderman Payne. Uh floor is open for discussion. And I was going to add just because we can dim it, we'll still I mean we don't have to we're not tearing it down tomorrow. So it may take it may take some time to get to that point. Obviously we want checkers to continue to look at it as well. Um but this is just a for us to have the authority in the event that's needed, but it's not something that will have happen probably by the end of the month or even next month. is something that but we do to to Whitney's point it does show that the city's position on it but there still may be some time for let checkers and the landlord figure out how they want to proceed with it. Um

and I will say all parties are working well with each other. So it's you know we're hopeful there can be something done that appeases everybody's you know concerns with it. So yeah we talked to checkers today and they they understand we're trying to work with them as well on it to just figure it out. Y So is there any other discussion? [snorts] Hearing none. Roll call, please. Alderman Payne, yes. Alderman Lewis, yes. Alderman Hugh, yes. Alderman Jerome, yes. Alderman Gallagher, yes. Wheeler, Flores, yes.

That motion carries. Okay. So, next on our we actually do not have any other items on the planning agenda, so I'll move on. Uh the next item on our agenda is the mayor's report. So, if my team I'm going to start with the two I promised you a 2025 year in review. I guess it's a good thing. Normally I do this in December, but we were so had so many good things going on. Uh just being honest with you, I didn't have time to get to it. So I went and just compiled just some of the highlights of the things that happened in 2025 for South Haven. And again, this is not everything. Uh we're a big city. We're a blessed city. We're very uh economically successful. There's a lot of great things going on. Uh but these are just some of the highlights of what happened in 2025. So again, I break this up in the categories of our priorities, kind of the goals that I try to lead for our city. Obviously, u in any city or any um governmental entity, you know, the economy and you know, your financial health is has got to be at the top. So as far as the report for 25, we still have a very booming economy. Uh y'all know that uh obviously the XAI uh development was announced in 2025. uh that's uh in our industrial zone and u obviously there's a lot of moving parts out there but it's been a very uh positive announcement for us. Then we move on. We've talked about this for years but there's actually been progress with the Embassy Suites uh convention center expansion. Uh that's going to be a tremendous uh addition for DInnesota County. We had the u the groundbreaking ceremony uh back in August. And as far as uh the last update, everything is is on pace uh for that sevenstory 240 room um $75 million hotel to be built along with a convention center expansion and then they would be connected. So when

that's done, it will actually be the first convention center [snorts] in the state of Mississippi that has a hotel on site. So we we believe that that will provide big-time tourism dividends to DInnesota County uh and North Mississippi. So that's uh should be under going vertical uh sometime before midyear and the uh latest projections that in the spring of 29 the hotel would be open. So very excited about that. Obviously the Snowden entertainment district continues to roar. Uh tremendous activity over there. Some of the new points uh new things that open South Point Grocery Walk-ons has been super popular. Bangers Pickle Ball is about to open. Monster Golf and Bellyacres Restaurant just opened. Those are all uh A1 quality developments. One of the things that y'all know that I've been most excited about is, you know, for years we've been trying to get redevelopment back in our original business district. And so, we got the announcement that McDonald's is going to rebuild on the same site that it that it was from 1975 to the mid 90s. uh y'all know is a special special place in the early years of South Haven and so you know you would say why are you getting so excited about a McDonald's it's not just any McDonald's it has a lot of history and so to have that rebuilt on that site is huge for us Kia Auto dealership on Goodman we've never had one of those that's a big get and then improving recreational value all this board of alderman and me uh have been made that a highest priority to you know to improve the quality of life the recreational things in our city uh some of the things that happened. We completed the tennis expansion, eight new courts. Uh we resurfaced the field of dreams, uh which is our sports field for all children, even those who have physical disabilities, they can get out there and play baseball. And so it's a real special thing to resurface that. U Cherry Valley Park is uh under renovation. Uh we're committed to

renovating one of the greatest parks in our city's history. And so the bike track and skate park is they're putting the final touches on that now. Uh Snow Grove video board, if you haven't seen that, it's um just a beautiful board uh that helps us promote the concerts at the amphitheater and also public announcements that affect everybody in the city. Um first ever uh kudos to Alderman Wheeler for uh for bringing the idea forward to have the first ever hummingbird gardening festival. And like I was telling him, of all the things that we've done, I've never seen people more excited than the hummingbird festival. It was it was an outstanding event. If you haven't seen it, it's a beautiful garden and we'll have that festival. It was in September, was it? Second week.

Second week in September. We continue to celebrate our history. For those who haven't heard me say this before, South Haven is still a young city, but we're at the point now where we're old enough to celebrate our history. And when I was first elected mayor, um, I made the comment or just noticed that there's no historical marker signs. Nobody is noting anything that's special in South Haven. So, we started this program to start marking the special places and people in our city. So, this year, we've already done the places. We didn't add any new ones this year, but the people that we put in our tribute hall are phenomenal. So, we have Mike Mullins that's been honored. We're about to have his uh ceremony coming up soon. Tom Long uh former police chief, Marlene Sprinkle, uh the real first city clerk for this city, and Bob Perry, who is a a very respected judge in our municipal court for many years. These people are highly worthy of that, and we look forward to having their ceremonies soon. Again, as always, aggressive infrastructure improvement. with a city growing the uh as fast as South Haven does. Y'all know this, we have traffic concerns, okay? That's something that comes with fast growth. A lot of times you can't plan uh the infrastructure projects fast enough to keep up with the population growth, but we continue to make that a priority and move. So, obviously the I-55 widening project, we've been lobbying for that from the state for about 10 12 years. um that is funded and what you're seeing out there now is our moving utility. So that is becoming real. Uh that will widen I55 from uh Goodman Road south uh throughout the Church Road intersection and rework the Church Road intersection and that will be under construction um in early 2027. So very excited about that. Nail Road extension is basically done. uh that helps our grid going east and west to

mitigate traffic on Goodman and also Getwell. Snowden Lane widening was done. Uh and then we continue to get our budget as high as the city's history. We we now budget $7 million a year for street resurfacing. That's the highest in history. We're very proud of that. Drainage improvement projects continue. The Sweeney Church widening project was done. And then uh the beautiful brick wall at Rasco Road and Highway 51. again, you know, to reinvest in the original South Haven. Again, that was done in December. Very beautiful, very proud of that. Central Parkway sidewalks were done for safety of the Central Parkway Elementary School students. And we renovated our animal shelter. So, that was that's probably 20 years overdue, but we finally got that done and we understand that that's paying big dividends for us. Everybody's happy there. Public safety commitment goes every year without saying. It's number one. Without public safety, you have nothing. If you look, in the last seven years, we've increased our police budget by 103%. And so, I want anybody to Google it or go tell me that there's another city in America that's increased their police budget in the last seven years by 103%. So, we're very proud of that and it's paying dividends. We're keeping our our our city safe. Our police do an incredible job. Got to do that. Got to do that. Our general crime statistics are generally flat and uh and actually I know everybody gets emotional when you start saying this but in many categories I'm not afraid to tell you they're down. So crime is down in South Haven. So I'll challenge anyone that wants to debate that. And again I I thank Chief Karna and all the men and women our police department for the incredible job that they do. Um then uh growth and unique uh geographic challenges. Again, that goes to our police. Uh we have a tre a unique geographic location that creates challenges for us, but we're doing very well with that. Fire station number five was completed in this past year.

[cough and clears throat] So, what to expect in 2026? Y'all know the biggest issue glaring in the face of Dninnesota County is the disconnect from the Memphis sewer system. It's a $300 million solution. A federal court order in 2023 uh indicated that DInnesota County could no longer use Memphis sewer system. So, we had eight years uh to disconnect. So, we're looking for solutions. Uh that is at top of mind for everybody in 2026. Told you about Embassy Suites will start I55. Um Stateline roundabout project. We're still in the baby stages of that. Um, I've heard people repeatedly say, I don't know if they're joking or halfway serious, but say, "Let's build a wall on the northern border." Well, there's no way to build a wall on the northern border. That's not practical, and we wouldn't want to do that. But what we can do is a plan of putting roundabouts at key north south arterial intersections. And we're studying the financial uh details of that right now. And what that does is slows traffic. So if you have people who commit crimes in South Haven and then try to run back to Memphis, it's going to create a barrier for them and it's going to make a tremendous difference in crime prevention. And so that's uh you'll see and hear more about that in 2026. And then just moving fast, um Starlanding Sweeney, uh there's going to be a roundabout there. Uh the tourism tax extension that's fund our parks is up for renewal again for the state legislature. We'll be working on that. We plan to put LED lighting at Greenbrrook Park, Snowden Grove. Uh getwell multi-use trail has been funded by an MO federal plan. Uh that will be from nail to church. That should be under construction this year. Um we have a beautiful Stateline Road beautifification project that's on the uh inside sound walls of I-55 and the overpass at Stateline Road. And again, it's just beautiful painting to highlight our city and show make a grand

entrance to South Haven when people come in. We're very proud of uh making our city very pretty. Um XAI, you know, continues to to move quickly. I told you about McDonald's, our court renovation. We took the old uh Freds right down the street here on Northwest Drive. We needed more space for our court. And uh within about 3 months, that's going to be complete, which will help us tremendously uh with our court operations. But again, I'm I'm late doing this normally, I think. But I I I thank everybody for the year. But I do thank the board of alderman and our city for a great year in 2025 and let's keep that thing rolling in 26. So next on the mayor's report um just to enter in our minutes we have a anou with MZXT uh which is a subsidiary of XAI. uh they've they've agreed to spend 3,460,000 to help us widen Stateline Road and to resurface Stateline Road all the way from uh from two-lane road all the way to uh Interstate 55. So that's a very gracious uh investment by them back into our community. We're very grateful for that and we think it says a lot about their commitment to South Haven. So as far as entering the minutes, is there any

just place because it was approved the last meeting. So just plac in the minutes for this meeting. Okay. And And Andrew, you'll help us with that. Thank you. Okay. Another positive update I want to share with everyone. And this just is a I asked our fire chief about this today because I've had a just a gut feel. And you know, if you do what I do for a while, you start to you can just feel things like you can tell trends and feel it. [clears throat]

And I notice when I read um reports every day that we're not having quite as many opioid overdose um costs as we used to. And when I tell you in 2022 and before uh it was extremely alarming. I've had many conversations with parents of children who've lost their lives with an overdose and it truly has been an epidemic in our country and South Haven is not immune to that either. And so um gave me a lot of worry and a lot of things have happened. But I just want to report to you that we have a great trend going. And so in 2022, our EMS team responded to 174 overdose calls. Y'all think about that. 174. 2023 is 156. 2024 down to 147. 2025 it's only 38 calls

and so I know there's a lot of things that contribute to that success. We think just the the general awareness of the dangers of you know uh it's just the saddest thing in the world. You got a 20-year-old kid um that didn't get a second chance to make a mistake that took one took the wrong pill lost his life or her life. And so I think the awareness of it and the danger of it and then also the you know the use obviously the use of Narcan has has helped that tremendously. But I just I have to celebrate that tonight. That's just a great thing that that our calls are down in South Haven so fewer of our young people and people in general losing their lives due to opioid overdose. So that's my last um update there. The next one is fresh and I want to go ahead and uh talk about this and just real briefly, but we we've mentioned XAI. Obviously, everybody knows uh it's it's in the news. It's a huge development getting a lot of attention and this has already been announced. You've not heard from me, but I just want to make sure that the people of South Haven know what the latest is on this. And again, just as I've told the board and told uh the audiences of these meetings in past, you know, in order for us to be an appealing site for economic development, which pays tremendous dividends to our citizens, we have to respect companies competitive situation. Like there's things that there is a time and place when we release certain information. So if me or one of these board members or anybody else were to get ahead of that and speak out of turn, that could jeopardize the competitive advantage of someone who's wanting to invest tons of money in our city. So we have to respect that and we don't get out and speak ahead of them. And so that's the reason for that. So what has been announced

now, which is tremendous. It's a gamechanging announcement is XAI just recently announced the purchase of the building formally used by GXO at 2400 Stateline Road as expansion plans continue in South Haven. When when the first announcement was made on August 1st of 2024 in that announcement, we didn't know everything, but we knew this had the potential to be a gamechanging development for us. And so what they're doing now, this solidifies uh the amount of money involved here solidifies their commitment to developing it on the Mississippi side. So this 810,000T facility will come become the home of their third data center in the metropolitan area and the second facility in Mississippi along with a renovated power plant currently underway at 2875 Stanton [clears throat] Road. The newest data center will be home to uh GB300 processing units which are one of the most modern u uh techn some of the most modern technology for these units for artificial intelligence operations. It's expected to bring new job counts in excess of 100 immediately. This new development is consistent with the initial projected plans to step up expansion across the Mississippi line, making South Haven a key part of XAI operations in general, not just here locally, but their total operations uh worldwide. This multi- it would be a multibillion billion now dollar development is coveted globally and has further potential to make South Haven the home of one of the very largest economic developments in the history of Mississippi. Our city and entire community will soon reap unprecedented financial benefits from this new strategic alliance. I'm always proud of my city. You have always have people that say, "Well, the reason, you know, X comes here or Y

comes here or whomever is because of your geographic location, your airport, your your interstate system, all those things. All those things matter. I'm not trying to suggest that they don't, but don't kid yourself. The city that we have is attractive globally, and this is proof of that. South Haven is always poised and prepared to become the ultimate showcase to a development of this magnitude and I continue to welcome this partnership again as it will pay huge dividends for the city of South Haven. And so that's going to be all that I have on the mayor's report uh this evening. So next on our agenda, as I mentioned earlier, we always love to hear from our citizens. This is not a public forum. Um but we want to hear from our citizens. You know, I will I will say this that I challenge anyone to look at my social media channels. I have Twitter. I have two Facebook pages. I have a mayor's report blog. On the website, these meetings, I talk to the camera. I give you numbers to the penny. I'll tell you that I'm the most transparent elected official in the history of this state. And I want you to if I'm not, you show me somebody who is. I I can show you where every penny of every dollar has been spent since I was elected on June 28 of 2013. And and you show me again somebody who can't. So, we're going to be transparent. We want to hear from the people. And so, we have two people that have registered to speak tonight. And we're going to go in that order. Okay? So, we're going to Hey, because we have city business to take care of. We can't stay here all night talking about issues. You're going to get three minutes to say your piece. Okay. So, the first one is going to be uh Jason Haley. Will you please come forward? [clears throat]

Hey, so um you know, last time we talked here, um you said they were putting the soundwall up or I believe you said they have. Is that complete or is that in progress? Do we know? Yeah. And you brought a legitimate concern, Jason. I appreciate that. So, I can I give you an update? Yes, sir. Okay. So, I I knew you were coming. I knew you wanted an update and and you deserve that. And so, um, the answer to your question, uh, several weeks back, uh, we we, uh, are monitoring the noise there. And I, like I told you, the noise is a problem. It's it's too much problem.

It's a problem. It needs to be fixed. And like I told everyone in my statement on August the 1st, I would never allow any kind of economic development to come to this city that hurt our city. And my promise today stands to that and I have upheld that promise because I've had numerous discussions with them. So the wall was a $7 million wall that was put up I think about a month ago. It did bring the decibels down, measured the decibels. It brought the decibb down about 10. Um so the current plan at this time and I've I've quizzed them about this because I share your concern. Uh these temporary turbines like you're going to hear natural construction noise out there. Yeah. I'm not complaining about that.

You're not worried about that. You're going to hear trucks backing up and the whole thing. You're worried about the hum that sounds like a jet airplane on a runway and the high pitch noise which is constant. Yes. Yes. And so that is being caused by the temporary turbines that are out there. So when they start a new turbine for it to work properly and not damage the gas line, they have to turn that thing on full blast. You mentioned yourself that you noticed at times it's higher, then it seems to go away a little bit and then it's higher again. Yeah. So the reason that you're seeing the decel level higher at times is for that reason.

That is not acceptable. We got to look for another solution to that. I've been out there countless times. I've never owned a decibel meter until recent. Thank you, Whitney. Where are you, Whitney?

Whitney provided me with my first ever decel meter and I have been using the heck out of it. So here's what's um that uh the wall was about a $7 million wall. Took it down some. The next plan is to build a burm to build a dirt burm with uh evergreen landscaping. You will notice you live closest as any actually where you live. I've been to the end of Clon Hills Drive. I've been to Cherry Valley Park. I've been to Stanton Road. I've been to Two-Lane. I've walked everywhere. Where you live and I think it's due to the grade of the land is the worst.

Okay. But when when you read that like I've been I've even been on uh on Stanton when I know you're not proud of that. [laughter]

Yeah. But um so even on Stanton we've got higher readings at your property. I think it's cuz it's elevated. [clears throat] So the goal the next thing on the plan is to build a burn that's about a $12.8 million burn and then to plant evergreen landscape. When the leaves fell off the trees in the fall, it was a tremendous difference. And so that's one of the things that's that's causing it to be even more severe. But the burm with additional landscaping is projected to make a tremendous difference in the in the reduction. Um again, I'm not leaving you. I keep my promises. They know I've expressed the concern. They they're aware of that. There's other things that can be done. We're going to control the noise. That is going to happen.

Yeah. So I mean and and you know, thanks for the update. anything to help it. But, you know, in the last meeting, just to clarify, you know, you did say the wall is up and you went out there and your decimal reading showed as low as 39.1. I've never had a reading that low other than those three days. So, I think it's important to add that that um that was the the 16th when you measured that. So, the that was a Tuesday. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were the three most peaceful days I've had since August from this noise. And to me, it can't be a coincidence that Monday the 15th, there was a public hearing for the turbines and XAI in Memphis. So there was a lot of media, a lot of probably environmentalist people in town that were obviously visiting these other sites. So they go down there, it was quiet for three days and and then the following day that noise got so loud people up to three miles away in Horn Lake were asking about it, were complaining about this noise. So I, you know, I'm glad you went down there to get the decimal reading. you said you've done more. I've never had it under 40. So, even in in another email, you mentioned to me that that these temporary units, which should be at 44 or below for the decibels, I can tell you that that high pitch noise carries farther than than that. I mean, so, you know, when you speak of decimal readings, you know, people could say, hey, you know, my my dishwasher is the same decimal level. Well, if I put my dishwasher in my backyard and ran it, people a half mile or three miles away aren't hearing it. So, this is a different type of noise. Now, the lower tone, I hear that inside my house pretty much every night. You know, some nights worse than others. And it's more of a pressure. I've tried earplugs, doesn't help. Still hear it. So, I mean, this is a big deal. This is a big problem. And I understand I may be the closest, but there's other residents around there that in Colonial Hills that definitely have these same concerns.

Oh, yeah. I will tell you this. on uh on uh January 2nd, I I was uh at Cherry Valley Park. I spent two hours out there listening. I walked some of the streets of Colona Hills. I know Clone Hills pretty well. Yeah. I walked the streets of Clooney Hills. Unacceptable. It was a loud roar. And then on the decel ratings again, the day that I told you was down as low as 39. And so just on my own, I've really just using the human ear and then using the technology with a decel meter. Um there were days uh that you said after that and they were as high as 53.

Yeah, I've I've got readings over 60 when we're talking about decimal readings too. I mean neither one of us are audio engineer experts I'm assuming. I know I'm not but you know in a dba reading you're getting around 60. If you have that meter and you switch it to C then you're getting 70 80. So I mean I you know I know there's differences there but I've been trying to get readings of both just to have some comparison or someone that may know better. Hey this is what this means. Yeah, I see what you're saying. But just to be consistent, I've done mine the same way every time. Okay. So, there were readings as high as 53, 54,

which and when it's that high, it's unacceptable. It's too loud. I've spoken with XA. They're aware of that. But on the uh on the flip side, I've been there when the readings were as low as 39 to 42. And I can tell you that when it's that low, I'd cook out on your back porch every night. It's not a problem. No, it's still it's still a problem. That high pitch noise carries. So even at when I was at um you know say 41 42 on one night that head patient noise still reaches me sitting in my backyard you can hear it and there's no denying it. I mean if you're now that being said some people in the neighborhood do deny it. Um

you know with with uh hearing loss, hearing damage or over a certain age that high pitch the frequencies may not be heard. Yeah. My mother's been down and she says you know I'm not really hearing that high I'm like well I hear it now. I have a neighbor that's been a flight attendant for 30 plus years. She doesn't always hear the high pitch, but she does sometimes

when some and there's a lot of factors that contribute to that like the air humidity and things like that. So, there's going to be some variation to that. But what I'm telling you with the human ear and then measuring it, I think that the goal and their goal is to get under 40. And so, I I'm confident that if if we're under 40 there in the low 40s, I I think it's [clears throat] going to be something that's not going to be as disruptive. And so, that's the goal. But, I would agree with you. 53 to 56 is not acceptable. I mean, even in the 40s again though, I will I will stand on that. That that for me to be out there in my yard, you know, cleaning around the house or doing stuff. Um that that's that's irritating. It's hard to be outside for long when all you're hearing is this high pitch wine. Yeah. It's very difficult. And again, from inside my house,

I've got new windows. Got nice windows. Yeah.

Um I hear this. I hear that low tone. I hear it consistently inside my house at night trying to sleep. I've lost sleep over this. plenty of it just because it's, you know, I'll put a podcast or have some audio play in and it goes off and then you hear that noise. You know, if you wake up, use the restroom, you hear that noise and, you know, obviously it gets me angry um because it's still happening and it's it's happened since August. So, you know, again, you say this is a 12-month thing that their their their permit for these mobile turbines ends in um next August. So, I mean, this is, you know, this is going to be till August. It seems like that that I'm going to have these problems with the noise. No, we're working we're working on that daily. We're working on that daily and they have committed to that. And the other thing it is fair to point out and again don't get mad at me. I'm not trying to make you mad,

but you the area across the railroax has been an industrial zone since the city's inception, right? It has just not been used to its capacity like it's being used now. So, you bought a house next to an industrial zone. You did. And Joe, in the 70s, the Grenada Railroad is the trains are not now, but in the 1970s, I lived in the neighborhood and uh the trains were frequent. So where you are uh you would get at least three trains a night. So just I'm just trying to put that in perspective. You do live in an area that's adjacent to an industrial zone,

right? And the trains, they come and go like the planes fly over and they go. It's not a 247 consistent noise. You It's a big difference. I understand industrial zone. However, you know, I've been here 20 years and as uh you know, someone in their in their mid20s, they're not looking, you know, they don't they didn't consider any of that buying my house and then, you know, 20 years later, all of a sudden starting in August, I feel like I'm being tortured daily, you know. So, I mean, yeah, shame on me for not looking at all the details and knowing everything that, hey, there's an industrial zone even though it's not been used or it's been quiet, never heard a peep out of it, and all of a sudden it is. you know, and this this power plant, you know, I've talked to people that have lived here longer than 20 years. The Duke Energy Plant when it was around, my understanding wasn't making a ton of noise. It wasn't a disturbance like this. This is not just a a revised power plant. This is a massive scale operation.

Well, and that's why I'm I've told you before, and again, just to reiterate that, these turbines that are out there are temporary. So when the permanent units are there, they're housed and they're they're going to be placed further to the west where the old Duke uh turbines were. So there there was going to be a difference with that then. But even still, look, I I don't want you to think that uh that someone's writing this off that this is okay until July. It's not. Okay? I've had meetings. I've had discussions with them today. Uh they they hear us loud and clear. They understand that some things are not acceptable and we're going to you have my commitment that we're going to work on that to get the to get the noise level to an acceptable

and I'll I'll keep speaking to you and hopefully you know even if it's not here that we can have emails you can keep some updates and you know I haven't again it seems like that that with all your social media posts and everything I mean that that the people that aren't here at the meeting or that have you know that I've told and you know talked to my neighborhood we no one knows this is a problem you know so I mean you know there's not enough I don't think there's enough um enough statements on what's going on really outside of here or you know directly speaking to people in my neighborhood that that yeah I hear that sounds like a plane is there a new airport back there no that's that's the power plant and that's

well to be fair to be fair you know we and as I mentioned earlier we put information out there we're transparent we put it out there but there's also responsibility on everyone's else part to tune in I mean I know there's people that have never been to a public meeting. We have these twice a month, every month. They're video recorded. You can go back and watch every meeting that I've ever done since 2013. You can go watch it. So everything that I've said, it has been recorded. It's out there. And so anyway, there is some responsibility on the citizens part as well to stay informed as well.

Yeah, I mean, I could see that. It's just, you know, with this being that big of an impact with it affecting so many neighborhoods um and so many people, it seems like maybe just getting out in front of that and letting us letting letting more people know via social media with more people are looking at social media than they are watching these meetings. You know, I mean, no disrespect there. I'm new here. Obviously, we haven't we haven't spoke before all this started happening. So, yeah, I get that not everyone's showing up or not everyone's watching and listening to them. It's, you know, it's not not everybody's following everything like that. But if you post something on Facebook or or Twitter or whatever your other social medias are, you're going to have a lot more people that are aware that aren't going to come to these meetings or listen to them, you know. So,

well, I think we got pretty good coverage. I think we got traditional media here. Again, it's being video recorded. I've told you the latest details. I've told you specifically what is next to address the noise concern and it's legit. And so, the good news for you is that you don't realize it, but I am on your team. You don't quite you don't quite feel that way yet,

you know. And you can understand why though, correct? You know, I'm not I'm not doubting you calling you a liar. I'm just saying that, you know, this this is this drives me nuts, you know. It really does. And I I work full-time. I come home and this is what I have to hear. Can't even be outside for long. This is what I have to hear. Can't get to sleep at night. This is what I have to hear. So, I mean, that that's my problem. And I mean, you know, if you live there, you would and I know you're still keeping up and and keeping on them, but I mean,

you know, maybe that that's why it's bothering me so much, right? And so also, I mean, you know, you've said the due diligence was done that that that you know, this wouldn't have any adverse effects, but obviously it does. And you know, there are homes on Stanton Road, too. There's people that live on Stanton Road, you know. Um, so for me, for for y'all to walk around and say, "Hey, this is going to be fine. Not going to bother anybody. It's just, you know, it's it's It's good for the city. I mean, how I wonder how the people on Stan Road feel about that. You know, there's people there's someone right across the street from this power plant. But then again, I have to stand by that. If you buy a house in the in the middle of an industrial zone, that's you made that decision,

right? Well, this property has been there for, you know, for quite some time, probably longer than that's been industrial. And then, which I don't, you know, it's not something I've dug into a lot, but I also know that another property was was considered a agriculture zone and and that and that residence felt like he still is. And then I just informed him recently, no that's industrial now. And I don't know when that got changed. I don't know the process of that getting changed, but you know that that's Yeah. You know, anyway. So, well, we'll wrap it up. I appreciate you coming forward.

One one more thing if you don't mind though. So, so I've just in talking to some of the the realtors and stuff because, you know, obviously I I'm ready to get out of here, you know, but my my property value is already taking a hit because I have to disclose that, hey, I'm right next to an active power plant and this noise is happening. So, you know, there's there's more effects than just the noise. Um, and then, you know, the new the new GXO building they purchased, you know, there's 250 plus people that are going to be without a job after next week because that is bought out and they're tip temporary employees that now have to go find employment elsewhere. So, again, that's just that's there's more concerns to that. And then, you know, with the uh with my complaint on the noise and what we see, Xai has told us it's not going to happen and here it is happening that that would be no adverse effects. And you know, it's hard for me to believe what they're telling everybody else about the pollution and the water usage and utilities and stuff that's happening um in other states that are ahead of us in this game. So, I think there's bigger concerns. I think that the future will show some economic benefits, but it's also going to show a lot of other problems. There's a lot of people in South Haven and Colonial Hills that are ready to get out of this area because of this. And you know there's going to be I feel like there's more people ready to leave than this is going to bring jobs to. So you know that one more thing we do have a petition you know we did email this to you along with most of this the board of alderman and we were asking for some where other people can speak at to voice their concerns and we have got no response on that. Um, so we we have a petition with over 700 signatures and some public impact statements that we'd like to leave with y'all.

Okay, Bill. Yeah, please leave that. Just leave it at the podium if you will. All right. Our city our city attorney will take that. Yeah, Jason, thanks for coming forward. I appreciate it. You know, hopefully we get some more updates on it and this moves faster because I'm losing plenty of sleep over this living that close. I hear what you're saying. Yes, sir. Okay. Okay. And then we had one other person who wanted to speak. Uh um we have Miss Shannon. Shannon Sam, are you here? Okay. Please come forward. We're pin pals, right? Yeah, I guess. So we were we were the email.

I am Shannon Sansa. I've lived in South Haven my whole life. Um and to be completely honest, I would rather be anywhere else but here right now. I don't like attention. I don't like getting up in front of people. Um, and I'm not here for drama or politics. I'm here because I care about my community. I work in healthcare and if I don't speak up, I don't know who's going to. Um, mayor, like you said, I emailed you in August with some pretty detailed concerns and I appreciated your initial reply, but when I asked for documentation to support the claims being made, I never heard back from you. Um, and now I've watched those concerns start to come true one by one. Um, I was told there would be no noise issues and that all due diligence had been done. But both South Haven and Horn Lake residents are enduring like relentless turbine noise like Jason just talked about. So I won't get too much into that. But there was at least 18 turbines that started running in August. Um and although I was also assured they would not run 247, many are running 16 to 24 hours a day. And despite a claim that temporary air permit was in place, MDQ confirmed there is no temporary air permit. They are using an using an exemption that allows them to bypass public notice, a public comment period, and air monitoring for up to a full year. Um, we were told they have our best interests in mind, but this facility will emit more pollution than any other in South Haven and possibly the county. Dotto is already the only county in Mississippi that is failing air quality standards for ozone and that is per the American Lung Association.

Yeah, let me just clarify that there. There are several things that I'm going to help you with a little bit. A lot of that has to do we're grouped in with West Memphis, Arkansas. So that that is our our air quality has been addressed as a region, not just as as it's not just a soda county. Okay. The trucking industry is significant more as we all know in West Memphis. So we get grouped into that. So I do know what you're talking about, but that's a separate measurement than the one that is the report card. the report card for Dotto County specifically is a F a failure for ozone and it's a B for particular matter if we were group

but I'm not going to get into specifics other than to tell you that that that is relevant to the mayor of the city because of economic development purposes. So I've been in many discussions about that. Okay. And a lot of that is what I'm telling you. It's not from something that's happening in Dninnesota County. It's the it's the Memphis metro as a whole. I agree with that. I agree that a lot of it is coming from Memphis. But I don't I'm going to let you speak because I don't want to take your time. So go ahead.

Okay. Sure. Um, XI's own consultant submitted plans to add 41 permanent turbines and projections of 423 tons of nitrogen oxides per year. To put that into perspective, that is more than four times the amount the South Haven TVA plant produces annually. Um, and that's with pollution controls, by the way. So, these turbines are operating within two miles of more than 10 different schools with children whose lungs are still developing. Um, they're like Jason said, hundreds of feet from the nearest homes. Their own data shows emissions of multiple hazardous air pollutants including formaldahhide, benzene, arsenic, chromium, all of which have no safe level of exposure. So even if it's a small amount that is it's cumulative and over time that matters. Um they're also emitting significant amounts of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide and so many others. And as someone with two healthcare degrees, I just want to be really clear these emissions are linked to serious wellestablished health risks. stroke, heart attacks, asthma, cancer, reproductive harm, pregnancy complications, and even things like dementia, Parkinson's, and mental health disorders. And those risks are especially dangerous in communities that are already struggling with with air quality. People will die from this. I I'm not saying that to be funny. I'm being serious. I have two healthcare degrees. I have extensive clinical knowledge. People will die from this. This is not safe. And another issue is the water. We were promised water recycling before operations began, so there would be no impact to the aquifer. Between September and October alone, XI already used 99,000 gallons of water. I understand in relative terms that's not a lot right now, but I don't know what's been used since, and their operations have clearly expanded. Now, they have a data center which uses the majority of water. So, that's another concern that I have. Um, and we're told this is an economic win, but I can corroborate what Jason said from different sources. is there are more than 250 workers being laid off at the warehouse that XI just acquired. Um,

and on top of that, I didn't see a sewer fee on XI's water bills, which raises questions about whether they're receiving the tax incentives through the West End program, which would exempt them from nearly all property taxes for seven years, plus whatever financial incentives they might be receiving through the Chamber of Commerce or the state. Um, I I don't believe any of you or you, mayor, intended to harm the community. I don't I I believe what you're saying that you you wouldn't invite someone here that intended to cause harm, but the city opened the door to XI, not us, not MDEQ, not the state. This was a local decision that was made, and now we are living with the consequences of a choice that we had no say in. So, I'll end with you still have the power to do something about this and make this right, no matter what it may cost you. And I think that deep down you know what is happening is wrong. But if nothing changes, the legacy left behind won't be beautifification projects or skate parks. It will be the moment residents realize their health, their peace of mind, and their trust were sold off. Many of whom many of whom are here tonight asking for something very basic, like Jason mentioned, a public town hall, just a real public forum with real transparency. Will the city be responding to that request? the city will talk to MD MDQ is the official as I've told you in the email the official environmental quality agency the permitting the pro and the uh processes that occurred with this are done by MDQ now obviously as I told you in the email I would not when this was first brought to my attention I did my own research on what this is and and again we're not going to debate tonight but I disagree with your comments I would not be an advocate for anything that was going to jeopardize the health of the people I said I agree with that you And I know I'm a much older man than you, but just so you know, the neighborhood you're referring to, that's the neighborhood I grew up in. I lived my whole life in that neighborhood. I went to Hope Sullivan School. Uh, my sports career started at Cherry Valley. You won't find one human being in the city that loves Colona Hills like I love it. Okay? I have a great history there.

The last thing in the world, I wouldn't let this happen anywhere, but the last place I would let people's health be jeopardized would be in the neighborhood where I grew up. And I believe you. I just think maybe you didn't understand the implications of this before agreeing to it. So, you're disagreeing with MDQ and that's what we're not going to get into. MDQ has not approved any permits except for a general construction permit. You're getting into semantics because their formal processes allow them to use temporary turbines before the permanent permit is done for the permanent generation. So, your stance is a city could have done absolutely nothing about this. They can't speak out about it. Nothing. Yeah. I could have run the development away and cost I'm going to get into the financials for you. Okay.

Okay. Sure. So, I'm going to make this real clear and and these are not all exact because like I said, I'm not going to get ahead of XAI. I they're they're uh they've proven that what they told me in early 2024 has happened, but there's a lot of unknown still. So, we don't know the exact numbers, but I'm just going to give you a hypothetical example. [clears throat] So, the general fund, do you know how much the general fund is? I don't. Okay. So just the general fund in South Haven, Mississippi for this budget year is $83,316,000. Okay.

Okay. So hypothetically what has been announced so far the financial impact to all the citizens in 2028 it would add 20 million over $20 million to the general fund. Just this one one development. I've been a part of many great developments in my time here. There's never been a development that generated that kind of revenue. So the way the tax uh structure works, the city has a millage rate, city gets tax revenue because the business personal property they have will be taxed. When in addition to that, DInnesota County gets a comparable actually a little bit less and then the school systems mill rate is even higher than the cities. So, when you look at this, at the end of the day, just based on

what has been announced thus far, it's going to uh insert $60 million into DInnesota County. Now, you mentioned that you're you're an academic uh person. You So, you think about what that amount of money does to our schools, the improving the schools, improving the teacher pay. Uh then from a city standpoint, do you know what I can do with 20? The average total cost. You see these police officers around here to put a police a new No, not these. These are experienced people, but to put a brand new uh police officer on the streets about 125,000 a year. So if you give me $20 million, can you do the math in your head real quick?

So to be clear, they're not receiving the West End tax benefits. They're paying property taxes fully. No, they have incentives. We brought You don't You don't bring a development of this magnitude without incentives.

No, I understand that. But you just this this organization they around the world they want to be South Haven that this is coveted around the world. These financial numbers this is unprecedented in the state of Mississippi. Anybody around the world would love to have this development here. And that's what I'm trying to explain to you is that when I look out for when I'm a steward of the money of the city of South Haven, I look out for the future of the city. When I see something that's going to improve the lives of the citizens of South Haven, when I look at a $20 million insertion in one budget year, I'm adding more police officers. I'm paving more streets. I'm adding more EMS personnel to protect you when you have a heart attack in your front yard. I'm improving the parks. I'm all these traffic problems that people complain about every day. I'm fixing those. I'm not waiting on the federal government to give me some grant to the NO program. I'm fixing them today in South Haven. So, the amount of money, the the financial benefits that our city and our county could potentially get from this is gamechanging. In your lifetime, in my lifetime, it's never happened. So, am I going to run something like that off? Absolutely not. Now, again, if there was ev if there was objective evidence that it's going to cause health problems to the people, I would have been fighting it on day.

Was a public health study done? But that's when you and I disagree because and MDEQ disagrees. Was a public health study done? MDQ is the like I said MDQ does not have doctors or medical professionals was a public health stud is the formal environmental protection agency in the state of Mississippi. I know you don't agree with them and that's where we're going to end the discussion. The bottom line is you don't agree with what the experts say. I respect that but I disagree with you. I would never allow a development to come to South Haven that harm the people of this city. And the financial benefits of this are gamechanging for these citizens and will pay huge dividends to the people of South Haven, DInnesota County for many years to come. Not all money is good money, mayor.

I I I respect your time. Thanks for coming forward. Okay. So, that's all we have on the agenda. We'll move forward. Next on the agenda is the personnel docket. Mr. Mayor, I move we approve the personnel docket as presented on this date. Second. We have a motion by Alderman Payne, second by Alderman Hoots. Is there any discussion? Hearing none. Roll call. Alderman Payne? Yes. Alderman Lewis? Yes. Alderman Hughes? Yes. Jerome? Yes. Gallagher? Yes. Wheeler? Yes. Yes. That motion carries. Next on our agenda is our city attorney's legal update. Mr. Nick Manley. Again,

just one quick item, no action, just to enter into the minutes the um B and L agreement that was previously approved for um uh XAI as well. So, no action, just motion that in the minutes tonight. Thank you, sir. Next on the agenda is the utilities billing leak adjustment docket. Mr. Mayor, move we approve the utility bill leak adjustment docket as presented on the state. Second. We have a motion by Alderman Payne, second by Alderman Flores. Is there any discussion? Hearing none. Roll call. Yes. Alderman Lewis. Yes. Alderman H. Yes. Jon, yes. Alman Galler, yes. Wheeler, yes. Flores, yes.

That motion carries. Next on the agenda is one claims docket. Mr. Mayor, move we approve the claims docket in the amount of 2,134,663.81 81 cents including demand checks. [clears throat] Second. We have a motion by Alman Payne, second by Alderman Flores. Is there any discussion? Hearing none. Roll call. Alderman Payne. Yes. Alderman Lewis. Alderman. Yes. Alderman Der. Yes. Gallagher. Yes. Wheeler. Yes. Flores. Yes. That motion carries. Next on our agenda is the purpose of determining the need for executive session. Make that motion.

We got a motion by Alderman Gallagher. Second by Alman Hoots. All in favor say I. Any oppose say no. Eyes have it. Motion carries the needs this evening or economic development within the city and interdep departmental personnel with no action. Do we have any claims, Nick? Oh, one claim for city infrastructure. Public works. Okay. One claim for public works infrastructure. So those are the needs. Is there now a motion to declare executive session? So move. Second. We have a motion by Alderman Hoot, second Wheeler. All in favor say I. I. All oppose say no. Eyes have it. Motion carries. The mayor and board will now enter executive session.