Lafayette County supervisors approve sale of hot-mix asphalt site to Magnolia Materials
The Lafayette County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Magnolia Materials, LLC’s request to purchase the 33-acre lot it currently leases in the Max D. Hipp Industrial Park and waived the county’s 30-day public notice requirement for the proposed sale at the board’s Sep. 8 meeting. Magnolia Materials is constructing a hot-mix asphalt plant on the property on County Road 166.
The board allowed no public comment on any items relating to the sale of the Magnolia Materials lot during the meeting, despite objection from attendees.
“I think there should be the opportunity for 5-10 minutes of public comment at every hearing, unless you’re not interested in your constituents’ input or diverse perspectives,” said Alex Cortez, a resident of Oxmoor neighborhood, approximately 1.3 miles from the plant site.
Board President Brent Larson stated the board has the authority to sell surplus property to “further economic development” and that the county is allowed to sell county property without public bid.
“On Dec. 15, 2025, the board entered into a lease agreement with Magnolia Materials, which included the right of Magnolia to purchase the leased property during the terms of this lease,” Larson stated in the meeting. “Significantly, the lease required that a fair-market appraisal be completed and that the purchase price be based on a fair-market value.”
The initial lease was for $5,000 a year for 35 years. With the sale approval, the board must obtain two fair-market value appraisals for the property. The county must offer a sale price to Magnolia Materials within 15 days of the appraisals’ completion.
John Morgan, District 2 Supervisor, questioned the need to waive the 30-day public notice of the intended sale. None of the county officials present offer a response. Subsequently, Morgan abstained from the vote on the waiver. The remaining four supervisors voted to approve the waiver.
Magnolia Materials justified the waiver of the 30-day notice, stating in a legal filing with the board that the waiver was needed due to time constraints and the “necessity to close the contemplated action as soon as possible.”
The board unanimously approved Elliott & Britt Engineering, P.A. to draw legal boundaries of the Magnolia Materials’ property. County Engineer Larry Britt is a co-founder and owner of Elliott & Britt Engineering.
On July 10, Meg Faulkner DuChaine and Thomas Faulkner filed a lawsuit challenging ownership of 1.37 acres of land in the Magnolia Materials industrial park lot.
Morgan referred to those 1.37 acres as the DuChaine’s land when asking board attorney David O’Donnell if those acres were going to be carved out of the Magnolia Materials lot. O’Donnell responded, “That’s right.”
Prior to the supervisors’ meeting, Mississippi Media Lab asked O’Donnell what control over the hot-mix asphalt plant site the county might retain after the property is sold. He did not respond before publication time.
On May 14, residents Ronnie McGinness, Meg Faulkner DuChaine and John DuChaine filed an appeal to the board’s May 4 decision not to rezone portions of the industrial park from heavy industrial to light industrial, which if approved would not have permitted construction by Magnolia Materials.
No hearing date on both lawsuits has been set.