Stone County Board of Supervisors Special Meeting Recap | May 26, 2026
This summary is intended to document what was discussed and decided during the meeting. It follows the agenda in order and reflects the substance of each item.
Supervisor Daniel Harris was not present.
1. Local and State Emergency Declarations for Flooding
Emergency Management Director discussed recent flooding, weather forecasts, and preparation for additional rain expected over the following several days.
Discussion included:
- Requests to submit both a local declaration of emergency (DR3) and a state declaration of emergency (DR4) related to flooding
- Current damage reports and flood conditions across Stone County
- State reimbursement thresholds for emergency declarations
- Tracking county expenses for possible reimbursement, including:
- Equipment
- Vehicles and mileage
- Labor and overtime
- Materials such as rock, sand, and gravel
- Flooding concerns in low-lying areas including Creekbank Road, Price Road, and areas near Red Creek
- Voluntary evacuation efforts for residents in flood-prone areas
- Campground relocations at Mill Creek Campground and Red Creek Campground
- Coordination with the Red Cross, City of Wiggins, law enforcement, fire departments, and first responders
- Emergency shelter planning at the Senior Citizens Center
- High water rescue preparation, including boats and emergency vehicles
- Communication plans among first responders if conditions worsen
Road Manager reported:
- Some roads had sustained damage, though conditions were not as severe as expected
- Creekbank Road and Stump Texas Road remained impacted by water
- Some residents were temporarily unable to leave due to driveway washouts.
Motion made and approved to submit both local and state emergency declarations.
Vote: 4–0
2. Opportunity Zone Designation Discussion
Representatives from the Economic Development Partnership (EDP) discussed a proposal to submit Stone County census tracts for consideration as federal Opportunity Zones.
Discussion included:
- Mississippi Development Authority outreach to counties regarding Opportunity Zone eligibility
- Federal designation of more than 400 eligible census tracts statewide, with approximately 100 to be selected by the governor
- Potential inclusion of census tracts tied to the industrial park and other areas in Stone County
- Opportunity Zone incentives related to capital gains tax treatment and business investment
- Potential use as a tool to attract business and industry
- Coordination among the county, city, and EDP to submit one countywide request rather than separate submissions
- Deadline for submission by the end of the week
EDP representatives stated Stone County did not submit for the previous Opportunity Zone cycle and discussed submitting a request for consideration during the current cycle.
Board discussion included support for EDP serving as the county’s representative for submission.
Motion made and approved to support EDP submitting an Opportunity Zone request on behalf of Stone County.
Vote: 4–0
Public Comments
No public comments.
Executive Session
Motion made and approved to determine the need for executive session.
Vote: 4–0
Motion made and approved to enter executive session for a contract matter.
Vote: 4–0
Editor’s Note — May 30, 2026
Several readers have raised questions in response to this article about the bitcoin mining facility currently operating inside Wiggins city limits. Those questions — about water usage, permitting, noise, and how that property changed hands — are worth taking seriously, and here is what we know at this point.
The facility falls under the jurisdiction of the City of Wiggins Board of Aldermen, not the Stone County Board of Supervisors. The property was acquired in 2024 by CleanSpark, a publicly traded U.S. company (Nasdaq: CLSK), which purchased it along with two other Mississippi facilities from the previous owner. Sound mitigation work is currently being installed and was discussed at the May 5 Board of Aldermen meeting. That recap is available here
Questions about permitting, operations, and water usage go to the City of Wiggins.
The connection residents are drawing between the Opportunity Zone discussion and data center development is one we are actively looking into. Mississippi’s Opportunity Zone designations have drawn interest from data-intensive industries, and Stone County residents deserve a clear-eyed look at what that could mean for infrastructure, water, and land use here. We are working on that report now. We will update this page when it publishes.
If you have information relevant to this story, contact us here
Residents of Stone County like it the way it is. Quiet, not too big or busy. People do not want a lot of development. We moved up here from Gulfport to get away from all that. Now you are going for a Federal Opportunity Zone? Exactly what does that mean? No one wants a huge data center here. And what is this bitcoin data mining center I am now hearing about? Please do not ruin Wiggins and Stone county for the residents. How about asking people what they want? One thing nobody wants is a lot of subdivisions like Gulfport. Or data centers.
That feeling is familiar. In a lot of rural communities, growth arrived without invitation, and by the time people realized what was changing, the decisions had already been made.
The concern here is legitimate and deserves a straight answer. We’re still gathering information on the specific projects you’re referencing — the data center and the mining operation — and we’ll report what we find.
What we can say about Opportunity Zones generally: designation doesn’t determine what gets built. It creates a tax incentive that can attract investment to economically distressed areas. What that investment looks like, whether it serves the community or just uses it, depends on whether residents are part of the conversation.
That’s exactly the problem this platform exists to help solve. Stone County deserves to know what’s being decided, in time to weigh in. We’re here to make sure that information is available.