Aldermen rescind $100K payment for solar ‘prize’

Alderman voted Oct. 17 to rescind an earlier vote to pay PowerUp Solar $100,000. 

Aldermen askde Mayor James A. Young to bring in members of the PowerUp Solar committee to present clarifying documentation of their plan for the city at the next meeting. 

“I want further proof of what this really does and be given some examples of how it has worked in other municipalities and what they did. I want to see a business plan,” said Ward 1 Alderman Justin Clearman. 

A $100,000 “prize” was awarded to PowerUp Philadelphia and 66 other communities and organizations as part of the $6.7 million Energizing Rural Communities Prize from the Department of Energy, officials said. 

These “prizes” are to be used to increase the knowledge of solar energy and help assist rural communities in implementing solar technology across two phases, according to the federal government. 

Eligibility for Philadelphia to enter Phase II requires the federal government to grade the community’s solar plan for an opportunity to be awarded an additional $200,000 “prize.”

Young has been advocating for the solar work and is on the committee in charge of the funds.

In other actions, aldermen voted to:

• Approve a motion to pay Allen & Hoshall $840 for engineering services completed on the Booker T. Washington Gym. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve motion to pay Allen & Hoshall $22,500 for engineering services completed on the Lagoon Erosion Repair project. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve motion to pay Allen Engineering $645 for engineering services completed on the runway and taxiway seal coat project at the airport. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve motion to move $45,987 from the General Fund to the Fire Prevention Bank Account for Fire Protection Allocation rebate funds. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve a motion to allow the mayor and board to attend the Small-Town Conference in Meridian Oct. 25-26 and for the city to pay for registration and travel. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve a motion to allow the Payroll Clerk to attend BBI training on Nov. 14 and for the city to pay for registration and travel. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve a motion to allow the Sanitation department to give Austin Gray a $ 1-an-hour pay raise for certification completion with MDEQ. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve a motion to accept the low bids of $14,632 and $12,699 from Comsouth for police vehicle equipment. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve motion to pay Southern Accents MS $4,498 for office furniture for the Police Department out of Drug Seizure Money Bank Account. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve a motion to pay Ammon Roofing $63,550 for roof repair at the new Police Department building. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve a motion to allow street closures for the Christmas Parade route on Dec. 4. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve a motion to accept the resignation of Michelle White from part-time dispatch at the Police Department effective Oct. 16. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve a motion to hire Madaline Lashley as dispatch/clerk full-time for the Police Department effective Oct. 18 at $13 per hour. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve motion to allow administration and investigation raises of $1 per hour for the following Police Department employees: Jessie Hamilton, David Brackett, Desmond Jones, John Lilley, Shea Elliott, and Justin Wyatt. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve motion to accept a grant from the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security for $90,000 through the Fire Department to be used for a truck purchase. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve a motion to pay $2,694 for members of Taskforce to attend SUSAR conference in Orlando, Fla., from Nov. 6-8. The payment is reimbursable. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve motion to pay four nights of hotel rooms for six people at $129 per night with Taskforce. The payment is reimbursable. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve a motion to give a $0.75 per hour pay raise to EMT Richard Creekmore effective Oct 1. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve a motion to promote Parker McWhirter to Firefighter/EMT at a rate of $15.13 per hour. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve a motion to extend the Burn Ban for the city of Philadelphia to run concurrent with the County Burn Ban and to be revisited at the next meeting. The motion was approved unanimously;