A small group of private citizens are aiming to pressure theLincoln County Board of Supervisors into allowing the MississippiDepartment of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks to keep theircounty-owned office building and remain in Brookhaven, but theeffort may be too little, too late.

Brookhaven Monument Company owner Dave Pace said he is in theprocess of drawing up a petition that would formally asksupervisors to reconsider their unanimous vote to let thedepartment’s lease on their District Five headquarters expire. Hesaid he hopes to gather the signatures of at least 50 businessmenand hundreds of private citizens around the city and county for thepetition, which will voice the signers’ disappointment withsupervisors’ handling of the matter.

“As businessmen, we need to take a stand when our supervisorsmake a mistake,” Pace said. “The business community has got tostand up to this kind of stuff. We can’t let people be run off forno reason.”

Supervisors voted 5-0 in January to allow MDWF&P’s lease onthe county-owned office building at 304 South Second St. to expire,hoping to renovate the building for use by the growing LincolnCounty Tax Assessor’s Office. The wildlife department has sincebegun preparing to move the District Five headquarters out ofBrookhaven to an existing facility inside Percy Quin State Park,just south of McComb.

Department officials, local legislators and local businessowners have said the loss of the state office – and the traffic itbrings into Brookhaven from District Five’s 12-county area – wouldremove thousands of dollars from Brookhaven’s economy.

Board President the Rev. Jerry Wilson declined comment on thepossibility of a petition, saying only, “We’re waiting for theboard meeting and we’ll go from there.”

The next meeting of the board of supervisors is Monday at 9a.m.

District Two Supervisor Bobby Watts defended the board’sdecision, but said supervisors wanted MDWF&P to remain inBrookhaven and would give any petition brought before them theirfull attention.

“We haven’t demanded (MDWF&P) leave Brookhaven, we haven’tdone nothing like that,” he said. “I don’t know what else we can doright now, but there’s always alternatives. There ain’t nothingthat can’t be torn down and redone.”

District Three Supervisor Nolan Williamson said he would alsoinspect any petition brought before the board, but he said it wouldnot change his mind. He said the county had no choice but toreclaim the office building or spend taxpayers’ money to rentanother facility.

“How can I go before the people and go across the road and haveto rent something for $1,400 to $2,000 per month to store somerecords in?” Williams said. “We’ve offered (MDWF&P) one or twoplaces more to go. I don’t want to lose nobody in Brookhaven, butif they’re sincere about staying in Brookhaven – if they loveBrookhaven and Lincoln County like I do – then, hey, there’s plentyof places around here to stay.”

Even if Pace’s petition were to succeed in convincingsupervisors to reinstate MDWF&P’s lease on the District Fiveoffice building, there’s no guarantee the department will remain inBrookhaven.

MDWF&P Spokesman Jim Walker said if supervisors recant theirdecision the department will consider its new options. But for now,the plan to move to Percy Quin is in motion.

“I think it’s too far gone,” he said. “Supervisors needed thebuilding for other purposes, and we accommodated that request.Right now, as it stands, we’re in the process of relocating thatoffice.”

Walker said the department would “certainly want to know” ifsupervisors recanted, but pointed out that moving the districtoffice to Percy Quin is an economical option and the petition’sbearing on supervisors is uncertain.

“(Supervisors) asked us to find another place, and we did,” hesaid.

District Four Supervisor Doug Moak and District Five SupervisorGary Walker did not immediately return phone messages seekingcomment.