A new face was at the table for the Panola County Board of Supervisors’ Monday meeting at the Sardis Courthouse.

Josh McPherson, of Eley McPherson Engineering of Cleveland, gave the board his first monthly report, outlining his goals as the county’s new engineering firm point of contact.

Panola County had been served by Elliot Britt Engineering of Oxford for 20 years, but that ended with a resignation letter from Larry Britt given to supervisors last week.

At Monday’s meeting, McPherson said his first order of business will be an exhaustive inventory of the county’s State Aid road system. By April, he said a map should be available with a ranking of all 160 miles of State Aid roads by condition and status.

Bridge inventory and conditions will follow, he said, with repair recommendations.

Counties contract with engineering firms to oversee design standards and bid process for major road projects, often relying on their connections with state road authorities and legislators to obtain the most favorable funding options for local roadways.