Building the new county jail at the Ceres Industrial Park will jeopardize Warren County’s ability to ever attract economic development to the county’s industrial park, South Ward Alderman Alex Monsour said Wednesday.

Monsour, a former state representative who was chairman of the House Ports, Harbors and Airport Committee, said he has had discussions with Mississippi Development Authority about putting the jail in the industrial park and was told doing so would affect the county’s ability to develop Ceres. The MDA is the state’s economic development agency.

Monsour did not say who he talked with at MDA.

“If we put a jail or a correctional facility on that site, it will harm our chances of ever getting an economic development project on that site,” he said. “That comes from Jackson, Mississippi; it doesn’t come from Vicksburg, it doesn’t come from the city of Vicksburg, it doesn’t come from us, it doesn’t come from me. That’s a plain simple fact.

“That is anywhere in the state of Mississippi. If you put a correctional facility on your industrial site, it will harm your chances of ever getting an economic development package or a business of any magnitude for jobs in your industrial site.”

Monsour’s comments came at a meeting of the Board of Mayor and Alderman during a discussion of Mayor George Flaggs Jr.’s letter to the Warren County Board of Supervisors indicating a majority of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen will not support putting the jail at Ceres.

The letter also indicated the board would not support any legislation to exempt the county from building the jail more than 1 mile outside the city limits unless the city has input.

The letter was signed by Flaggs and Monsour. North Ward Alderman Michal Mayfield refused to sign the letter.

“I will never vote to harm the people in Warren County or the city of Vicksburg, or their children or my children or the next generation from ever being able to get jobs in this place, simply because it’s easy to put it (the jail) there because we own the land,” Monsour said.

“I’m not going to do it. It’s harmful if its going to affect our ability to bring jobs and industrial sites to the city of Vicksburg.”

He said he and Flaggs offer to help the supervisors select a site.

“We asked them to bring their selections and we would help,” he said. “We’re not getting reciprocation. They’re not coming to us and saying ‘here they are.’ We’re asking them to let us help them.”

Flaggs said he opposes a jail at Ceres because he is concerned about the potential impact on economic development at the industrial park and the jail’s effect on the Mississippi National Guard’s  Readiness Center.

“If the Board of Supervisors will submit to this board or me at least three sites and their preference in terms of one, two and three, I’m sure we can pick one of those sites that we can agree on,” he said.

He said he did not want to get into a fight with the supervisors over the jail.

“I think this is one community and we should represent this as one community and I have every intention of doing it. I’m open, I’ve always been open to good dialogue, good discussion. We’re here to assist them if they want us to assist them. I want to work with them. the city and the jail are bigger than my ego.”

Mayfield, who has recommended the two boards meet and resolve the issue, said there is not much land in the county that can be developed for a jail without a lot of site preparation.

He said property on west side of North Washington is in a floodplain, and property on the east side of the street and U.S. 61 North contains hills and hollows. Open areas of U.S. 61 South, he said, are also near or in a floodplain.

“This is very tedious, it is a very serious project that needs to be undertaken,” Mayfield said. “We’re going on 25 years and the cost is rising, and all of us who are taxpayers, will have to pay for it and time is costing all of us.

“I do believe they (the supervisors) want to do the right thing, I believe this board wants to do the right thing. We just need to come together and come together quickly.”