If nothing else, our city and county governments showed they can finally agree where to put a county jail.

The Warren County Board of Supervisors Monday approved an interlocal agreement with the city that allows the county to build the facility outside the Vicksburg city limits, and all indications are the state Legislature will give its stamp of approval to the agreement. A hurdle cleared.

But many others remain.

The county still has to settle on an appraiser to determine the value of the 47-acre property on U.S. 80, east of the Clay Street intersection known as the old Pinewoods Hotel. And once that value is set, it has to negotiate with the owners and settle on a price the county can afford. There is also the question of how much it will cost to build the new jail and how the county will pay for it.

Then there’s the people who live and work within the immediate area around the proposed jail site.

There is a possibility that the property’s neighbors are not going to passively take having a jail in the neighborhood. Jails are like landfills; everybody says we need them, everybody knows they’re important. They just don’t want them in their neighborhood, and before this facility is built, whether it’s U.S. 80 or wherever, the supervisors and the Board of Mayor and Aldermen will hear plenty of complaints centered around the theme of NIMBY — not in my backyard.

An indication of the coming protest has already been seen with a sign protesting the jail standing on the property. Whether the jail will eventually be built on the U.S. 80 property will depend in part on how well our local public officials are able to weather the storm of protest and calm the residents’ fears.

It’s good to see the city and county come together and reach an agreement on the jail, but looking at the overall picture, it’s a very small accomplishment.

There still remain significant issues that need to be addressed before the sheriff can move his prisoners into a new, modern facility.

Board of Supervisors President Richard George in January 2017 said he would like to see construction started on a new county jail by time the present board’s term ends in 2019. Right now, that wish seems a long way from being granted.