Starkville aldermen greenlit Golden Triangle accounting firm T.E. Lott and Company to perform due diligence studies on Cadence Bank’s Main Street location in advance of the city’s potential purchase of the building and subsequent transformation into Starkville’s police and judicial headquarters.
Aldermen spent more than an hour Tuesday behind closed doors discussing several executive session items dealing with the looming purchase and emerged with a motion authorizing Mayor Parker Wiseman to sign a letter of intent with the company.
Per board action Tuesday night, the city will also enter into negotiations with local architectural firm Shafer and Associates to amend an existing agreement between the two parties to include services for the potential Starkville Police Department and Starkville Municipal Court home. If the two sides cannot come to an agreement by Oct. 21, Starkville will issue a request for qualifications for the architectural services.
Aldermen also moved to acquire a second appraisal on the city’s current municipal home but took no action toward leasing a portion of the new city hall to Starkville School District.
The future home of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District is still uncertain as 2015’s state-mandated school consolidation approaches. The issue is closely tied to Starkville’s potential Cadence purchase, as officials have said a deal is in the works to move city court in with SPD at Cadence, while then leasing office space to SSD at the new city hall under construction at the end of Main Street.
To facilitate the estimated $2.55 million Cadence purchase, Starkville would sell its current administrative home and lagoon property north of the city.
SSD Superintendent Lewis Holloway told supervisors Monday he hopes the district can lease about 14 offices in the upcoming city hall for about $2,500 a month. Holloway asked supervisors to foot the bill for the lease – state law mandates the county board to provide physical space and financial support for the consolidated system’s administration – while allowing SOCSD to continue utilizing Oktibbeha County School District’s home in the county education building.
Supervisors took no action on the requests Monday.
Aldermen called for due diligence studies, including cost projections for renovations and a proper site inspection, after Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins made a hard push to purchase the building ahead of approving $5 million in bonds for a Golden Triangle Development LINK-backed industrial park project.
To fund the almost-39,000-square-foot facility’s purchase, the city is expected to shift over $1.27 million in certificates of participation previously earmarked for renovations to the current city hall and sell the lagoon property for an estimated $400,000-$600,000. Starkville could net an estimated $800,000 for its current Lampkin Street home.
Wiseman and Chief Administrative Officer/Finance Director Taylor Adams have repeatedly said the property acquisition is not expected to create a tax increase.
In a letter dated Sept. 5, T.E. Lott pledged to identify certificates of participation available for the purchase; review and verify city-owned property appraisals; review sub-rental agreements as they relate to the Cadence acquisition; verify the bank’s proposed price and the items included with the property; identify a budget for police department renovations; quantify the impact created on tax rolls by converting a Main Street parcel to public use; and review operational costs for the current police station and proposed facility.
The review was estimated to require between 30-40 hours billed at an average or blended rate of $131 per hour, not to exceed $5,000. In the letter, T.E. Lott asked the city to cover any out-of-pocket expenses.
The firm’s presentation, the letter states, would not express an opinion on the city’s financial statements and internal control procedures and shifts liability for the proposed purchase back to leaders.
In other business, aldermen tabled a five-year, $30,000-maximum financing package for Lafayette Street sidewalk improvements, authorized the Golden Triangle Planning and Development District to prepare and submit a $400,000-maximum Mississippi Capital Improvements (CAP) loan for improvements to the industrial park’s sanitary sewer system and approved a cost-sharing agreement with the Greater Starkville Development Partnership for game day operations of the Starkville-Mississippi State Area Rapid Transit system.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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