News - Local

Sunday, Nov. 08, 2009

Fight expected over dirt for new high school

OCEAN SPRINGS — A Hancock County dirt-hauling contractor, hired to supply fill dirt for the new high school, said he wants to save taxpayers money by using dirt off property he owns in Vancleave.

He told county leaders last week if he’s allowed to dig dirt from his property, it would shave $200,000, and he would get the catfish ponds he always wanted on the 220 acres he owns off McGregor Road.

But others see the proposal as a quick way to get Jackson County to approve a dirt-pit operation, something that usually takes wrangling and time to get through the permitting process.

Tommy Cobb, of G and C Construction, received unanimous approval from the county Planning Commission in October to take the dirt from his property. But former legislator Louis Fortenberry, a consultant to contractors and a resident of Pascagoula, appealed that ruling to the Jackson County Board of Supervisors. Supervisors will hear the appeal Dec. 7 at a 10 a.m.

Fortenberry said the date, which is Pearl Harbor Day, is fitting because he expects a fight.

He said he’s an environmental engineer, a hired gun, who is usually on the side of the dirt-pit operator.

“But they’re giving these folks sort of a free ride,” Fortenberry said last week. “And they don’t even live in Jackson County. It’s a Hancock County business.”

Scott Walker, a consultant for Cobb, said his firm worked on the Planning Commission presentation and again to set the hearing date, but he’s advising Cobb to get a Pascagoula lawyer for the appeal to the Board of Supervisors.

Walker said he was concerned the opposition to the dirt pit might also reflect opposition to the new school and its location east of Ocean Springs.

He also wanted to point out Cobb hired his firm after Cobb had secured the contract with Ocean Springs schools. Walker’s mother is president of the School Board.

Michele Coats, director of planning for the county, said Cobb is proposing to dig two 10-acre catfish ponds on his property, which is zoned agricultural.

She said aquaculture is permitted in that type zoning. So are dirt pits.

Coats said the commission approved 50 to 60 truckloads of dirt a day hauled off the property for 90 days. But the commission also required Cobb to put up a $150,000 bond for any damage to county roads and lay 100 feet of crushed limestone at the entrance to the property to keep dirt off McGregor Road. He would also be required to have a flagman on Mississippi 57 during the hauling.

Coats acknowledged people who propose a dirt pit on their property usually get opposition from people who live in the area, but the dirt-hauling operation Cobb is proposing is for a limited time only.

Coats asked the board to hear the appeal in mid-December, but Supervisor John McKay, who represents Ocean Springs, urged the board to hear it as soon as possible to keep the appeal from holding up construction of the new school.