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Record of Proceedings

Southaven Board of Aldermen Meeting – May 5, 2026

Mayor and Board of Aldermen — Tuesday, May 5, 2026
BodySouthaven, Mississippi
SessionMayor and Board of Aldermen
DateTuesday, May 5, 2026
StatusFILED
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Transcript — Verbatim
5:24

I'm now calling this meeting to order.

5:25

Please stand with us.

5:26

I'll leave us in prayer tonight.

5:28

Please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

5:30

It'll be led by Alderman Jerome.

5:34

Dear Lord Heaven, we acknowledge you and thank you for the privilege to gather together and make decisions for the benefit of South Haven.

5:41

We ask for your wisdom and your direction when we make these decisions.

5:46

We thank you most of all.

5:47

We thank you for our city, but we thank you most of all for your son Jesus who died on the cross to pay the price for our sins.

5:53

In Jesus' name we pray.

5:55

Amen.

6:14

First on the agenda this evening is the approval of minutes for the April 21, 2026 meeting.

6:20

Some move.

6:22

We have a motion alterman Jerome, Second Walterman Lewis.

6:26

Is there any discussion?

6:28

Hearing none, roll call.

6:30

Alderman Hayes.

6:32

Alderman Lewis.

6:33

Yes.

6:34

Alderman Hughes?

6:35

Yes.

6:35

Alderman Jerome.

6:36

Yes.

6:36

Alderman Gallagher.

6:39

Alderman Wheelers.

6:40

Yes.

6:41

That motion carries.

6:43

Next on our agenda, we have a uh special event.

6:46

We have our uh our graduating seniors from our mayor's youth council that are here tonight uh getting ready for high school graduation.

6:54

And so we're gonna uh we're gonna uh acknowledge them uh this evening.

6:59

So again, like I always do, I'm gonna give you some good advice, okay.

7:03

You you don't have to listen to it, but I'm gonna give you some good advice, and it's stuff that uh I experienced in my own life, so you can take it or leave it, but it is good advice, and that is you're at a point in your life where you're you're you're about to start making uh decisions that are gonna impact the rest of your life.

7:22

Up until this point, your decisions, yeah, you've had to make some decisions, and your mom and dad have you know helped you along, but the ones that you're about to start making are gonna have lasting impacts on your life.

7:33

And so the advice I'm gonna give you is know this.

7:38

From this point forward in your life, whether it be your college or uh vocational choice, uh career, whatever, they're gonna be people who are gonna try to put labels on you.

7:49

And what I mean by that is they're gonna say, hey, you know, you're pretty good at this, but you really don't have the talent to do this, so why don't you settle for this?

7:58

And so one day maybe you'll remember that I told you this, because it is gonna happen to you.

8:02

And so my advice to you is don't let anybody put labels on you.

8:06

Whatever it is that you're planning to do with the rest of your life, you are the sole decision maker for that.

8:12

So I encourage you to do that.

8:14

Do not settle.

8:15

Um you hear people say that you can do whatever you want.

8:18

Um if you want it bad enough, you can do whatever you want.

8:21

That's not true.

8:22

I'm here here to tell you that is not true.

8:24

God gave everybody a unique skill set.

8:27

God has a unique purpose for all of your lives.

8:31

Everybody's not meant to be a mayor, but he's not meant to be an attorney, a doctor, whatever it is that you're choosing.

8:38

Everybody has a specific skill set that God has given you.

8:42

Uh but what you do need to do, remember and do is that you can do so much more than you think you can.

8:49

Like what you've done in your classes and and whatever um, you know, outside extracurricular activities you've done, you haven't even touched the surface yet.

8:59

You can do so much more than you think you can.

9:03

So don't sell yourself short.

9:05

Whatever it is that you want to do, don't let your uh boyfriend, your girlfriend, maybe even your parents talk you in a per talk you out of pursuing your goals.

9:16

It's up to you, so go for it, is my advice.

9:19

And so here are the here are our special seniors.

9:23

So I'm gonna start with South Haven High School.

9:25

So we're gonna do we call your name, come forward, and uh then at the end we'll have a group photo with everybody.

9:31

So from South Heaven High School, we have Sebastian Belanios.

9:38

Sebastian here?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Engineering And Infrastructure███████████████████████████████████35%
Public Safety████████████████████████████████32%
Procedural██████████████14%
Youth Programs███████7%
Technology and Innovation██████6%
Animal Welfare███3%
Pending Litigation███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Southaven Board of Aldermen Meeting – May 5, 2026

The Southaven Board of Aldermen met on May 5, 2026, to consider a range of administrative and operational items. The board approved several contracts and resolutions, tabled one item, and received a report from the Mayor on recent city projects and events.

Recognition of Graduating Seniors

  • The Mayor recognized 14 graduating seniors from the Mayor's Youth Council representing Southaven High School, DeSoto Central High School, and North Point Christian School. The Mayor offered personal advice on not letting others define their limits and pursuing their unique purposes.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of minutes from the April 21, 2026 meeting – unanimous.
  • Resolution for sole source purchase of a SWAT armored vehicle (bear cat) from Linco at a cost of $413,270 – unanimous.
  • Rejection of bids for the police department generator transfer switch improvement project (bids: $187,000 and $190,842) and authorization to rebid in the next fiscal year – unanimous.
  • Contract with Final Touch Security for fire alarm inspection, testing, and monitoring at SPD East Precinct for $1,080 – unanimous.
  • Sponsorship agreements for Bank Plus Amphitheater: A&B ($60,000/year for four years), Old Dominion ($6,620 for one year), and Clark Beverage ($20,000/year for two years) – unanimous.
  • Final change order for Cherry Valley bike pump track and skate park – decrease of $26,951.25 – unanimous.
  • Utilities contract with Smart Sites for SCADA system alarm notifications ($10,000/year, subscription-based) – unanimous.
  • Engineering work authorization for Mill Branch and Town & Country roundabout not to exceed $103,000 – unanimous. The Mayor noted the project is funded by a $750,000 state allocation and will improve traffic flow and deter criminal fleeing.
  • Contract with ADP for electronic onboarding and employee surveying ($11,000/year, prorated first year) – unanimous.
  • Fire department affiliation agreement with EMS Training School LLC allowing paramedic student clinicals – unanimous.
  • Amendment to agreement with DeSoto County Convention and Visitors Bureau allowing the city to renew for an additional year at its discretion – unanimous.
  • Contract with Murphy and Sons for fire station #3 addition – $288,150, 210 calendar days – unanimous.
  • Resolution to clean private property as presented – unanimous.
  • Donations docket: $3,105 to the animal shelter from Walk-On and other donors – unanimous.
  • Personnel docket – unanimous.
  • Utilities building leak adjustment docket – unanimous.
  • Claims docket: $3,393,349.36 including demand checks – unanimous.

Tabled Item

  • Contract amendment for Michael Hatcher and Associates landscape maintenance (hummingbird garden) was tabled. The Mayor requested more information, citing an unusually high estimated increase of $27,000/year.

Mayor's Report

  • The Mayor reported that Springfest was successful with no major issues, crediting changes made in previous years.
  • State Line Road resurfacing is underway (the first road paved twice under this administration). The section under I-55 overpass (MDOT property) is pending MDOT approval.
  • Rasco Road between Tulahoma and Getwell has undergone full-depth reclamation and is now complete, resolving failures caused by increased traffic.
  • The city has budgeted $7 million for street resurfacing this season; work will continue after current projects.

Executive Session

  • The board voted to enter executive session for discussions on litigation involving police and fire departments, economic development within the city, and interdepartmental personnel, with no action anticipated.

Meeting Transcript

I'm now calling this meeting to order. Please stand with us. I'll leave us in prayer tonight. Please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. It'll be led by Alderman Jerome. Dear Lord Heaven, we acknowledge you and thank you for the privilege to gather together and make decisions for the benefit of South Haven. We ask for your wisdom and your direction when we make these decisions. We thank you most of all. We thank you for our city, but we thank you most of all for your son Jesus who died on the cross to pay the price for our sins. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. First on the agenda this evening is the approval of minutes for the April 21, 2026 meeting. Some move. We have a motion alterman Jerome, Second Walterman Lewis. Is there any discussion? Hearing none, roll call. Alderman Hayes. Alderman Lewis. Yes. Alderman Hughes? Yes. Alderman Jerome. Yes. Alderman Gallagher. Alderman Wheelers. Yes. That motion carries. Next on our agenda, we have a uh special event. We have our uh our graduating seniors from our mayor's youth council that are here tonight uh getting ready for high school graduation. And so we're gonna uh we're gonna uh acknowledge them uh this evening. So again, like I always do, I'm gonna give you some good advice, okay. You you don't have to listen to it, but I'm gonna give you some good advice, and it's stuff that uh I experienced in my own life, so you can take it or leave it, but it is good advice, and that is you're at a point in your life where you're you're you're about to start making uh decisions that are gonna impact the rest of your life. Up until this point, your decisions, yeah, you've had to make some decisions, and your mom and dad have you know helped you along, but the ones that you're about to start making are gonna have lasting impacts on your life. And so the advice I'm gonna give you is know this. From this point forward in your life, whether it be your college or uh vocational choice, uh career, whatever, they're gonna be people who are gonna try to put labels on you. And what I mean by that is they're gonna say, hey, you know, you're pretty good at this, but you really don't have the talent to do this, so why don't you settle for this? And so one day maybe you'll remember that I told you this, because it is gonna happen to you. And so my advice to you is don't let anybody put labels on you. Whatever it is that you're planning to do with the rest of your life, you are the sole decision maker for that. So I encourage you to do that. Do not settle. Um you hear people say that you can do whatever you want. Um if you want it bad enough, you can do whatever you want. That's not true. I'm here here to tell you that is not true. God gave everybody a unique skill set. God has a unique purpose for all of your lives. Everybody's not meant to be a mayor, but he's not meant to be an attorney, a doctor, whatever it is that you're choosing. Everybody has a specific skill set that God has given you. Uh but what you do need to do, remember and do is that you can do so much more than you think you can.

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