The Mississippi Highway Patrol Drivers License office in Vicksburg is unsuitable, according to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, and Warren County could be in danger of seeing the facility close if standards are not met.

MHP Lt. Ola Kirk, who took over as Region Director of Driver Services in September, told the Warren County Board of Supervisors during their Monday morning work session the facility did not pass the requirements of the MDPS.

“We’ve got to do better than we’ve been doing,” Kirk told the supervisors. “When I first pulled up, I thought it was a homeless shelter because people were outside sitting on the concrete.”

Kirk brought a long list of issues with the current facility and what is required.

The waiting area only has nine chairs when there is a minimum of 25 required for visitor seating. There must be a public bathroom, as well as a private bathroom for employees. The bathroom that is available is also not sanitary, according to Kirk. The facility must have a minimum of 21 parking spaces for visitors and one handicap parking space. She said there is also only one way in and out of the facility, meaning there is no escape route for employees.

“Somebody could take a grenade and throw in there and they might not be able to get out at all,” Kirk said. “Let’s do something before something happens and that’s why I’m here today to plead with you.”

Kirk said four MDPS stations recently had to be closed because they didn’t meet the requirements. They were closed for several months before they met requirements and reopened.

“Y’all aren’t the first ones,” Kirk said. “We’re not here to play politics, but I’m here for the safety of the public and the citizens of this state. We need you, we beg you and we applaud you, but I’m here to serve a summons to you that if within 30 days of this date we don’t have anything, we’re going to have to move out.”

Kirk said that she has talked to the Board of Supervisors in Sharkey County and they have found a facility for them to relocate to.

“We will be glad to move up there if they can accommodate us,” Kirk said. “We need a place, because this does not meet the standards.”

Board President Richard George asked Kirk if she was serving a 30-day notice and she acknowledged that she was.

“How long did it take you to come to this conclusion?” George asked. “As many years as we’ve been located here we have never had any problems.”

George said the current facility took the place of the MHP office in the basement of the courthouse several years ago. The current facility has undergone several “changes and renovations in the years we’ve had it and built it.”

“It’s going to be mighty difficult in 30 days being a governmental entity making a change like that because we have to follow purchase laws and all the business handled in a public purchasing arena,” George told Kirk. “30 days is not a whole lot of time. You, as a state agency, I would think would understand the time frame for us to be able to respond to something like this.”

Kirk backed off on the 30-day requirement and said the Board of Supervisors have until Jan. 15 to provide a letter of intent.

“You are not being picked on,” Kirk told the board. “These are the requirements in order for you to serve the public. I don’t know what was going on before I got here, but I’m here to straighten it out.”

George said the Jan. 15 date is much more workable.

“We have to go through a process of determining how much space is necessary, the ADA (Americans with Disability Act) codes and what facilities are available to us,” George said. “The time will be critical for us to offer a solution.”

George added that it would be helpful if the county knew which areas Vicksburg will be serving in order to accommodate a larger facility.

Currently, Warren County is also serving Claiborne, Isaquenna and Sharkey and a portion of Yazoo counties. The office served more than 1,500 people in October, according to MHP Master Sgt. John Warren, the district supervisor for the MHP in Jackson, who accompanied Kirk.

District 3 Supervisor Charles Selmon said this was the first time they have heard of any complaints with the facility.

“If we would have had a complaint, then we could have addressed it before we got to this point,” Selmon said.

The bottom line is that there is a safety issue, according to Warren.

“In case someone came in there shooting, the public would not get out,” Warren said. “The employees have a better chance to get out, if they can get up a ladder and go across the roof. We just want something safe.