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Lawmakers surprised by parks office decision
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| By: ADAM NORTHAM, DAILY LEADER Staff Writer |
May 11, 2009 |
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News of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks' upcoming exit from Brookhaven came as a surprise to Lincoln County's legislators - both past and present - who feel largely powerless to keep the state agency local.
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Former District 92 Rep. Dr. Jim Barnett, who helped steer the District Five office to Brookhaven when MDWF&P began shopping for locations in 1996, said it was easy to locate the office in a county-owned building and thought doing so would guarantee the office's longevity.
"We were certainly disappointed when the county decided the tax assessor needed it, and I'm sure she did," Barnett said, referring to Lincoln County Tax Assessor Nancy Jordan. "It makes me wish, in a way, that maybe we'd gone for a privately-owned building."
MDWF&P is moving out of Brookhaven to Percy Quin State Park, just south of McComb, this fall after Lincoln County supervisors voted unanimously not to renew the department's lease on the county-owned District Five headquarters building on South Second Street. Supervisors plan to renovate the building for use by the expanding Lincoln County Tax Assessor's Office.
Barnett said he is still hopeful the office can be kept in Brookhaven, calling on local legislators to step in and try to influence the situation.
"I still say we could save this thing," he said. "Any time we have a (state) office here in Brookhaven, it's a plus for us. I think it's real important we still try to save it."
But current legislators are scratching their heads as to why supervisors would oust the state agency, and scratching further when asked for ideas to keep MDWF&P in Brookhaven.
"I'm trying to think what the Legislature could actually do to help at this point, but it sounds like the ship has sailed," said District 53 Rep. Bobby Moak. "All the general legislation deadlines have passed. So, it would be just the budget, which of course is taking a hit right now."
District 92 Rep. Becky Currie also said there is nothing the Legislature can do to keep MDWF&P in Brookhaven.
"We give them a budget and they rent a building out of that budget," she said.
Currie went on to voice her displeasure with supervisors for voting to let the department's lease expire.
"I thought this was handled badly," she said. "I think that if this had been handled appropriately, where we could all sit down together and discuss the needs of both agencies - the wildlife and fisheries department and the tax office - we could have come up with something that was agreeable to both parties. The supervisors should have considered the fact we're about to lose jobs in Lincoln County."
District 39 Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith said she was working on the Senate floor when representatives from MDWF&P approached her and shared their surprise at being ousted suddenly from the District Five headquarters.
"They said they did not expect to be removed from their building, and it was pretty much a shock when they got the eviction notice," she said. "I feel like the decision has been made and I very much regret they are leaving."
MDWF&P Maj. Lane Ball, the southern regional administrator, said the department understands supervisors' decision to let the office's lease expire, assuring that no one from MDWF&P is upset about the pending relocation of the District Five office.
Ball did agree, however, that his agency was caught off guard by the cancellation of the District Five office's lease.
"Was there any warning? No," he said. "We were absolutely happy to stay in Lincoln County. Lincoln County is in the middle of the district, and it was convenient for us to be here. Seven of the 12 counties in District Five touch Lincoln County."
Ball said supervisors offered to lease offices in the old Keystone-Seneca manufacturing plant, but the offer was turned down. He said the building - which was built in 1956 and has stood empty for two years - was not considered by MDWF&P to be an adequate district office.
Choices for a new office in Pike County were more favorable. Though the district office is bound for relocation at Percy Quin, Ball said Pike County supervisors approached him less than one week after news broke of the department's forthcoming exit from Brookhaven and offered to house the headquarters in the old National Guard armory in Magnolia for $500 per month.
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©The Daily Leader 2009
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