City of Wiggins Board of Aldermen Recap | October 20, 2026
Tuesday, October 20, 2026 · 5:00 p.m. · Wiggins City Hall
Alderman Damian McKay left the meeting at 5:38 p.m., so votes after that point were taken with four members. The city’s newly appointed attorney, Sean Courtney, attended his first meeting.
At this meeting: The board approved a resolution allowing Sean Courtney to serve as both city attorney and municipal judge, voted to waive the Senior Center rental fee for an American Legion district meeting, voted to submit a $2,602,415 state grant application for downtown improvements with $1,824,715 in matching funds, voted to begin engineering design on citywide roadway improvements, approved an HVAC assessment at the police station, approved a bank reconciliation service agreement, waived the Senior Center fee for a Caring and Sharing planning group, and tabled the tobacco and homeless/panhandler ordinances, the drug testing policy, a $146,378 emergency sewer line award, and a vacation policy question pending a PERS review. The board also heard from an employee benefits broker and a well-service company.
Opening Business
IV. Consider Approval of October 20, 2026 Agenda. Passed 5-0.
V. Consider Approval of Minutes: October 6, 2026 Regular Meeting. Passed 5-0.
VI. Consider Approval of Docket of Claims: October 20, 2026. Alderman Jared Harris asked to remove claim 20465 from the docket before the vote. No reason was given in the record. Motion: Approve the docket of claims, excluding claim 20465. Passed 5-0.
VII. Consider Approval of Payroll: October 9, 2026 and October 16, 2026. Passed 5-0.
VIII. Citizens’ Comments (3 minutes per topic).
Jim Walker, commander of the local American Legion post and the district first vice commander, asked to use the Senior Center on Saturday, April 17, 2027, for the District 2 meeting. He said the meeting would begin at 11 a.m. with a meal afterward that the post would cook and serve. He told the board the post has about four members and gave nearly $400 to the high school band. The board directed him to the city clerk to arrange the date. Motion: Waive the Senior Center rental fee for the April 17, 2027 meeting. Passed 4-1.
Old Business/Tabled Issues
IX.a. Tobacco Ordinance. The deputy chief asked the board to table both this ordinance and the homeless/panhandler ordinance now that the city has a new attorney, who needs time to review them. Both were tabled earlier, on October 6. Tabled 5-0.
IX.b. Homeless/Panhandler Ordinance. Tabled 5-0.
New Business
X.a. Chancery court candidate. A candidate for chancery judge, Zachary M Vaughn, introduced himself. He said he lives in Petal, serves as a justice court judge there, and is running on “common sense solutions.” He described chancery court as handling divorce, custody, child support and probate, said he would work on starting on time and on different docket days, and said that if elected he wants his office in Wiggins. He noted the election is two weeks away (November 3). For information; no vote.
X.b. Joseph Hardy.
Mr. Hardy was called and did not appear.
X.c. Eric Tupper, Campus Benefits.
Tupper, an employee benefits broker who works only with school districts, counties and cities, said his firm serves the Stone County School District and the Stone County Board of Supervisors. He said the firm would build the city’s benefit package, help employees enroll, handle billing compliance and reconcile insurance bills with the city clerk’s office, with eight services provided at no cost to the city. He said employees come to the broker rather than the insurance company, and that employees rated the firm about 2,100 times in 2024–25 with a 99% satisfaction score, with 98% of questions answered within 24 hours. In answer to Alderman Rachel Bonney’s question about who would handle outstanding claims, he proposed that the firm become the city’s broker on November 1 or December 1, send out a request for proposals in January, and hold open enrollment by April 1, with the city continuing its current billing and claims processes during a roughly six-month transition. For information; no vote.
X.d. Greg Weatherford, Ginder.
Weatherford, whose company repairs and services water well equipment, told the board the National Guard well had problems at the end of summer with its right-angle gear drive, the backup that runs the well when power goes out. He said the well needs to be run about once a month, that he and his crew did not drill it and he believes it is about 35 years old, and that the gear drive would cost $31,000. He said the city’s other two wells have generators, and he recommended a generator with an automatic transfer switch for this one, though he did not have a price and said an electrician would need to size it. A board member suggested tabling the matter until a generator estimate was in hand; Alderman McKay asked for a quote. No motion was heard in the recording. For information; no vote.
X.e. Consider Approval of BBI Bank Reconciliation Service Agreement. Passed 5-0.
X.f. Consider Approval of Resolution – City Attorney and Municipal Judge.
The resolution allows Sean Courtney to serve as both city attorney and municipal judge. Passed 5-0.
X.g. Drug Testing Policy.
Damien McKay said the city should either follow its existing policy or change it and enforce whichever policy it has, and asked to see it at the next meeting. Motion: Table the item. Tabled 5-0.
Departments
Land Code Administrator
XI.a.i. Seymour Engineering.
The presenter said a tree had fallen across a house on Jackson Street, requiring a new roof and two interior and two exterior walls. Insurance was expected to pay about $130,000 against a replacement estimate of about $209,000, and the owners may ask the city to condemn the structure. The presenter made no recommendation.
The presenter also said an HVAC contractor had looked at the roof at the police station and could not see how water was getting in, pointing instead at airflow and humidity problems, and recommended a test-and-balance assessment of the air conditioning before the city spends about $80,000 on roof work. Motion: Approve the ERG HVAC assessment at the police department. Passed 5-0.
A reference to First Baptist Church foundation work was also made; details are not confirmed from the record.
XI.a.ii. Donovan Scruggs.
Scruggs said nothing major was going on, that clean-up complaints are improving, and that land development code amendments are headed to the planning commission and then to the board, with a goal of a faster, less restrictive process for citizens. He said he had received a list of properties from Alderman Harris and would review it, and that standards and priorities for clean-up, and a letter to owners, can help. For information; no vote.
Police Department
XI.b.i. Consider approval for Chief Hill & Deputy Chief Havard to attend the Winter Chiefs conference in Starkville December 15–18, 2026. Passed 5-0.
XI.b.ii. Consider approval of resignation of full-time officer Hunter Phenice. Passed 5-0.
Recognition and announcements. Not on the printed agenda. The chief thanked Public Works Director Archie Gray and his crew for tearing down old fencing and gates at the police training building on short notice, thanked Sean Courtney for his help since he was hired, and reminded the board that Stand Against Crime is Thursday, October 29, 5–7 p.m., at Blaylock Park. Chief Hill thanked the board for its patience and prayers. For information; no vote.
Alderman McKay left the meeting at 5:38 p.m.
Fire Department
XI.c.i. Consider approval for Fire Chief Steven Purvis to attend the MS Fire Chiefs Mid-Winter Conference December 16–17, 2026. Passed 4-0.
Baby box and school fire safety. Not on the printed agenda. The department said the baby box is being finalized and should be in service in November, and described fire safety work in schools. For information; no vote.
Public Works
XI.d.i. Archie Gray – Water & Sewer. Nothing to report.
XI.d.ii. Cassandra Arrington – Street Department. Nothing to report.
Municipal Court
XI.e. Municipal Court. No report was given.
City Engineer
City Engineer Ryan Tice – updates.
Bids for the FBO building at the airport open November 12. Water and sewer relocation for the Highway 29 bridge project is still moving. The city submitted its Main Street revitalization grant on September 11 and expects to hear in a couple of weeks. MEMA/FEMA representatives will hold an on-site visit on November 5 and a final meeting on November 12. For information; no vote.
XI.f.i. Board to consider award of Emergency Sewer Line Repairs to Gulf Coast Solutions, LLC in the amount of $146,378.00. Tice said 13 bids were opened and that he recommended the award; he believed bids hold for 60 days but said he would check the advertisement. Motion: Table the award. Tabled 4-0.
Paving and drainage discussion. Not on the printed agenda. Tice asked the board for direction on the citywide paving list, which he said is bigger than the money available. He said the engineering fee fits the budget, so the city can design everything and prioritize later, with FEMA reimbursement, USDA and small-municipality grants as possible supplements, and that design would take about three months, pushing paving into the January–March wet season. He relayed an email from Alderman McKay asking to move forward on West Miles Avenue; Tice said manhole settling and sewer problems on Miles Avenue must be repaired before paving. He said the county may pave First Street, Hood and Stella Jones next year, and recommended a separate drainage contractor and then one paving contract, with sewer and drainage kept in separate projects. The board also discussed damage on Coy Avenue near the fairgrounds, where he described a 2-inch overlay broken down by heavy truck traffic and water that cannot drain off the shoulders. For information; no vote.
Roadway design – 34A. Not on the printed agenda. Motion: Begin engineering design on the project designated 34A, as part of citywide roadway improvements, with high priority on number one. Passed 4-0.
Drainage projects. Not on the printed agenda. Tice listed drainage work in the grant request including the box culvert under the old mill, Hall Street at 5th Street (a new culvert between the tennis courts and the Hattiesburg Clinic), and a culvert near the courthouse. He said the city plans to advertise sewer line CCTV inspection in February and that the city’s timeline began in September. Funding source and details are not confirmed from the record. For information; no vote.
XI.f.ii. Board to consider approval of resolution authorizing submission of SMLPC grant application in the amount of $2,602,415 and committing matching funds of $1,824,715 to the City of Wiggins Downtown Improvements project. The submission deadline was moved to November 30. Passed 4-0.
City Clerk
XI.g.i. Consider acceptance of Johnette Spangler’s resignation letter. Passed 4-0.
XI.g.ii. Vacation Policy.
The city clerk said a full-time firefighter had asked about his years of service. She said her review of the minute books showed he was hired as a temporary in 2015, made full-time that November, moved to part-time for about three months in 2018, and returned to full-time in October 2018, and that BBI payroll shows an October 2018 start date. Under the handbook, employees receive five 24-hour shifts of vacation after three years of continuous service and seven after ten; he has been receiving five. Board members discussed whether his time counts as continuous service, whether he cashed out his retirement contributions, and whether he was owed additional days last year. A member asked that the board table the item and rely on his service record with the retirement system. Motion: Table the item pending verification of his time of service with the Mississippi Public Employees’ Retirement System. Tabled 4-0.
OmniCourt – Municipal Court software. Not on the printed agenda.
A speaker told the board that OmniCourt said the city’s ordinance must be reviewed and adopted before the contract can be signed, and that after that the setup, installation and training would proceed. The speaker said OmniCourt had billed the city about $9,499, though the city had been told it would not be due until the ordinance was adopted and the contract signed, and that OmniCourt’s per-citation fee estimate was an educated guess. A board member received a sample ordinance from the City of Long Beach, Mississippi. The board asked that the number of cases be reported to OmniCourt’s representative so the fee can be firmed up before the city pays. For information; no vote.
Aldermen/Mayor
Waste tires. Not on the printed agenda.
Alderman Jared Harris announced that the city does not pick up waste tires and that the Public Works barn is not a drop-off site; the county barn on First Street takes them Wednesday through Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. He thanked the county administrator and the Board of Supervisors for helping the city dispose of tires already dropped off, and thanked Supervisor Nathan Bond for work on one of the city’s backhoes. Public Works Director Archie Gray said there are no more problems and no cost. For information; no vote.
Senior Center budget. Not on the printed agenda.
Alderman Bonney said the EDP lighting project for the Senior Center is approved and being pursued, that the center is budgeted for the year, and that its roof dates to Katrina and its air conditioning is original, so any major repair would use up the budget. She said SMPDD will attend the November 3 meeting. For information; no vote.
Patrol car damage. Not on the printed agenda.
The deputy chief told the board that last week an arrestee kicked and bent the door of a new patrol car with about 7,000 miles on it. He said a body shop quote would be several thousand dollars and that an insurance claim is likely. He said the individual was charged with felony malicious mischief. For information; no vote.
Caring and Sharing – Senior Center use. Not on the printed agenda.
Caring and Sharing, now in its 20th year, asked to use the Senior Center for a couple of hours once a week for three to four weeks to plan, to waive the fee, and said she would take responsibility for the use. Alderman Harris said he has no problem with the program but wants to be sure a fee waiver is legal because he considers it a donation, pointed to Attorney General opinions, and said he does not believe the city should waive fees for organizations and wants to be consistent. Motion: Waive the Senior Center fee for the planning meetings. Passed 3-0-1 (one abstention).
Attorney Courtney. Courtney said he has a few notes and will send an email.
XII.a. Adjourn Until Tuesday November 3, 2026 at 5:00 p.m., being the next regular scheduled meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen.