Oktibbeha County officials have plans to improve a portion of Blackjack Road and lessen traffic issues near the area’s roundabout, but supervisors cannot move forward just yet because of a lack of funding.
Supervisors authorized County Engineer Clyde Pritchard to begin studying a possible cut-thru road behind the gas station at the Blackjack-Oktoc roads roundabout, one that could lessen congestion at the interchange, but they must still acquire property in the area if they wish to follow through with the plan.
With construction costs, signalization at the intersection, transplanting utilities and property acquisition, the bypass could cost the county more than $1 million.
As presented, the cut-thru would allow Oktoc Road traffic to avoid congesting the bypass as drivers attempt to enter Mississippi State University via Hardy Road and vice versa.
Relief at the busy intersection is needed, Pritchard said, since two new housing developers are eyeing construction projects on Oktoc Road.
As the university’s enrollment continues growing, investors are quickly purchasing property and building large-scale student housing in Blackjack community. Traffic congestion has followed the developments, and the area’s infrastructure is showing signs of stress from heavy equipment loads it wasn’t designed to handle.
Supervisors approved a $4.78-maximum financing package last year that a tax increment financing (TIF) district comprised of three new developments will support. The monies will help fund road improvements along Blackjack Road, but workers are in a holding pattern until the properties develop, hit the tax rolls and begin paying into the county’s coffers.
Pritchard added to the drama Monday by saying Blackjack Road repairs are needed now, not later.
“Blackjack will not survive the next few years if nothing is done,” he told the board.
His plan to alleviate the failing infrastructure calls for rebuilding the busy thoroughfare to a three-lane road from Hardy Road to Bardwell Road. Additionally, sidewalks would be installed from the Hardy-Blackjack intersection to the recently constructed Aspen Heights apartment complex.
The project would cost about $4.2 million.
Officials said they expect Aspen Heights and an upcoming 15-acre, $40 million project spearheaded by Innovative Real Estate Companies to each generate about $2 million in the TIF plan.
Since Innovative’s project is not expected to open until 2016, tax receipts from the development will take even longer to materialize.
Supervisors have not said if plans are finalized for the third housing project within the TIF district.
Board President Orlando Trainer urged his colleagues to issue bonds now in lieu of ever-increasing resident complaints associated with potholes and traffic conditions. Trainer has made similar calls this term, and his pleas for bonds have become an almost monthly occurrence this year.
“This isn’t something we just woke up to. This has been going on (for a while) and evolved to this. We really need to strongly consider doing something really big with all these projects we have on the table: Longview (Road), Blackjack and others,” he said. “I know this is an election year … and we all know (the projects) won’t be completed before the election, but you can bet your bottom dollar we can sit back and remember this day as one where we did something really good.”
As in past meetings, Trainer’s request was met with resistance from District 1 Supervisor John Montgomery, District 3 Supervisor Marvell Howard and District 4 Supervisor Daniel Jackson.
The trio undercut his wishes with several angles: Montgomery said increasing county residents’ tax burden would stifle future development, Howard said developers need to help foot infrastructure repair bills and Jackson said supervisors should make adjustments to their own four-year road plans instead of raising millage.
“‘We, the people’ … are already taxed enough,” Montgomery said.
“It’s just that the money isn’t there. We’re dealing with problems that our predecessors never dreamed would be issues,” he added after the meeting. “It’s up to us to figure it out, but funding is the issue. It’s going to take cooperation between a lot of different groups, including MSU, to find a long-term solution. The only short-term solution is to raise taxes, and there’s not a heartbeat in the community for that.”
The county could shave almost $1 million from the Blackjack rebuild project by eliminating sidewalks — Pritchard said the areas would still be prepared for future installation — and reduce Longview Road paving costs from $5.13 million to $2.91 million by changing the asphalting process to a double bituminous surface treatment (DBST).
In other business, the county entered into an agreement with the Golden Triangle Development LINK allowing the economic development group to continue evaluating sites for an upcoming industrial park.
LINK officials previously announced they would walk away from the proposed Innovation District after specialists said the 326-acre site could hold significant cultural artifacts. CEO Joe Max Higgins previously said preparing the site for developments could cost an additional $2 million and delay construction by at least 18 months.
The LINK is expected to seek a new $5 million bond intent notice for economic development projects this summer.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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