The Warren County Board of Supervisors heard from one resident who is not happy about the possible location of a new county jail on the site of the former Pinewoods Hotel on U.S. Highway 80.

During their work session Monday, Nancy Thomas told the board she feels residents in the area of District 1 are not being considered. Thomas said the 47-acre site shares a property line with her home.

“I’ll be looking out my window every morning, getting ready for work so I can pay my taxes to this county looking at razor wire,” Thomas said. “I do not want this over here.”

She would like for the facility to be constructed on property the county already owns, claiming the county owns more than a 100 pieces of property and dozens suitable for a jail.

“Why on earth is 50 acres necessary,” Thomas asked, adding she is not the only one in the area unhappy with the proposed location. She pointed out someone spray painted “No Jail Here” on the buildings located at the site and believes the “working class” people of her neighborhood are “being thrown under the bus.”

“I just feel like no one is listening to the people in District 1,” Thomas said. “Nobody is taking our feelings into consideration. It’s not fair.”

Thomas was told supervisors have looked at alternative locations, including selecting Ceres Industrial Park in December, but couldn’t come to an agreement with city officials on their chosen site. By law, the county and city must enter into an interlocal agreement for a county jail site one-mile or more outside the city limits, and that agreement must be approved by the Mississippi Legislature. The city has agreed to the location on Highway 80.

Board President Richard George also told Thomas the county doesn’t own the 47-acre site on Highway 80 and must go through the process of assessing the value of the property, as well as negotiate a price with the landowner. He added the additional acreage for the site would allow for expansion when necessary, as well as act as a buffer for neighbors in the area.

“The larger the piece of land is, the more ability you have to shield the facility from whatever is next door,” George said.

Thomas is also concerned with drainage if a jail facility is constructed near her, claiming heavy rains currently cause issues on her property, and development of the site could make it worse if a 5-acre pond on the property is removed.

“My property takes all the drainage of this area,” Thomas said. “If you flatten that pond or do what you have to do to get your flat land for your facility, you will be cutting off all the drainage, not only from my house but what goes through my property from that area up there and you will be flooding my property every time it rains.”

George said the board is familiar with state laws and drainage for any project the county is involved in and is usually one of the leading issues addressed.

“We’ve got to build a jail and we’re going to try to do everything that’s within our power of whatever site we end up on to address all the areas that are adjacent to it,” George said. “This site will be no different. We have not bought it yet; we’re looking at it.”