Commentary: St. Thomas Community Association Meeting

By Christopher Young,
Contributing Writer,

The St. Thomas Community voted at their March 3, 2025, meeting at St. Thomas MB Church to hold quarterly meetings from here on out, in an effort to hold elected officials more accountable. Their president, Yolanda Wilson called for the vote, and it was overwhelmingly in favor of quarterly versus monthly meetings. The association’s secretary, Monica Lee, was also in attendance.

Supervisor Anthony Smith spoke first, after an opening prayer by St. Thomas MB Church Senior Pastor Darryl Magee. Smith provided an update on a number of issues and answered numerous questions before departing for two other meetings.

The issues that he mentioned included: A new data center coming to the former Delphi/Packard Building in Clinton with a $750 million dollar fee-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement having been reached. The Board of Supervisors owns the new 5-story parking garage in Fondren, and new apartments will be coming there and leased from the county to generate revenue. Two solar farms are coming, one in Bolton and one in Clinton. Gulf South Pipeline Company is planning a new compressor station in Edwards to help address energy needs. Ongoing talks with municipalities are happening about the Hinds County Detention Center, which currently houses 600 inmates from Jackson, “we need to generate more fees from the municipalities.” St. Thomas Road will be striped soon. Sandy Bottom Bridge has been reopened after a short closure but will have to be closed again in two months for pilings to be replaced and receive state inspection. “We’re installing cameras to keep the heavy loads off that bridge.” St. Thomas Bridge, which has been closed for over seven years, “is in final planning stages and work will begin before the summer. It will cost $1.5 million, and St. Thomas Road leading up to the bridges will be improved at the same time.” While not certain how long the project will take, he stated he is “very confident the work will begin by this summer.” He also indicated that a request has been made for $6 million for Hinds County Roads.

At the St. Thomas Community Meeting on April 29, 2025, Supervisor Smith promised a sign announcing entering St. Thomas. When grilled about it at this meeting, eleven months later, he replied, “we’re working on it.” Also at the April 29, 2025, meeting he indicated that the St. Thomas Bridge would be “reopened this year.” Now he is claiming work will begin by this summer. The funds for that bridge will come from a separate source. When residents complained about potholes, poor roads, and storm debris, he promised that he would be working on those issues. He indicated that he only has $1.3 million to do work for the next two years, and that there are 600 miles of roads in Hinds County. He spoke about having to prioritize roads that school buses travel, to provide for the safety of the children. He assured residents that he cares about them and that he works hard for them every day.

This writer asked a lifelong resident what letter grade they would have given to the last District 2 Supervisor, David Archie, for overall results. The answer that came back was “F – that’s why we voted him out.” So what would it be for Tony Smith, a little over two years on the job, and after seeing several improvements in that time? This time the reply was, “F – I know he has gotten some things done but it’s just not enough, so much more needs to be done and we are paying taxes.”

 

Joey Perkins is the Hinds County Emergency Management Director. He provided an update and answered several questions around the 911 system and a Safe Room/Shelter. He shared the distinction between calls for emergencies being made from a house phone versus a cell phone, and that despite house phones being used less and less, the detailed information they provide about the caller’s location is superior, despite the county having the very latest cellphone technology.

In response to a question, he indicated that there are funds available, called mitigation funds, if a location was designated and approved as a shelter, to purchase a generator for that location. Currently there are no Safe Rooms/Designated Shelters in Hinds County. He also spoke about the high threshold, $1.5 million, established by FEMA and Congress, to address storm damage, and that typically that threshold is not met in an individual storm.

 

Earl Clowers is the Special Projects Officer for District 2 and seemed to be the speaker most appreciated by the roughly 40 residents in attendance. He now has eight years’ experience as an SPO, and it showed. He handed out Work Order forms and provided his cell phone number to the gathering. He stated that it’s one thing to make a complaint or submit a Work Order, but he promised to do individual follow-up to ensure the work is completed, usually through the Office of the Public Works Director, and promised to provide project updates or honesty if the job just cannot be accomplished and why. One resident suggested out loud that Clowers should run for Supervisor. Clowers came across as sincere, performance driven, and transparent.

St. Thomas may be small, but they are steeped in history and have a big heart. They are striving to hold themselves and elected officials accountable because they see clearly that other districts are getting plenty of improvements. A community clean-up day is scheduled for Saturday, March 7, 2026. Roll-Off dumpsters will be places in the parking lot on the westside of St. Thomas MB Church. Volunteers are needed. The cleanup will run from 8AM until Noon.