With 150 days left until the end of the term, many Starkville aldermen are not only getting into campaign mode for their respective re-election bids but are also looking ahead at unfinished business and tasks left to complete by June 30.
Outgoing Mayor Parker Wiseman and numerous aldermen have identified many projects — from the completion of renovations to Starkville Police Department to a code rewrite that will guide future development in Starkville for years to come — city leaders are expected to tackle during their last days in office.
SPD renovations
When asked what this administration’s biggest accomplishment will be, many leaders said completing Starkville Police Department renovations and opening the doors to the police force’s long-term home will be its signature legacy project.
Starkville struggled for years to find SPD a permanent base but settled upon the city’s former administrative home last year and secured almost $5.5 million for repairs and retrofitting.
Ward 6 Alderman Roy A. Perkins, who routinely votes against all measures to increase taxes, successfully stumped for a 1-mill increase to fund the project. The tax increase will roll off the books once the project is completed and all financial obligations are satisfied.
“Before this term ends, we need to ensure we have a very first-class facility for our police department. We need to ensure this building is constructed and built in a manner that meets the high expectations of the vice mayor and the city of Starkville,” he said.
Renovation efforts began in the fall and are about halfway complete. The project is expected to conclude in late May.
Code re-write
Starkville will soon begin working to simplify its development codes after aldermen approved a new comprehensive plan for the city last month.
City officials and the Tennessee-firm that authored the plan — the Walker Collaborative LLC — will hold public input sessions regarding the code update on Feb. 15 and 16. Three meetings are scheduled on Feb. 15 — design professionals will meet at 9:30 a.m. at City Hall’s second floor conference room, representatives of various Starkville boards and commissions will meet at the same location at 1:30 p.m. and general public comments will be taken at 6 p.m. at the City Hall courtroom — while a development review committee meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. the next day at City Hall’s second floor conference room.
Since tasking the Walker Collaborative with planning efforts, officials identified the new comprehensive plan as a foundation that would allow Starkville to modernize its rules and trim down the policy by eliminating redundancy and streamlining development processes.
Starkville has more than 20 zoning designations — almost one for every 1,000 residents — and a subdivision ordinance rooted in the 1970s. Modernizing the rules, Community Development Director Buddy Sanders said, will provide an immediate benefit for developers.
Ward 4 Alderman Jason Walker identified the code re-write as his biggest remaining priority this term.
“While there have been improvements made within the (Community Development Department), there is only so much that can be done under some of the very outdated codes,” Ward 3 Alderman David Little said.
Infrastructure improvements
Continuing ward-specific infrastructure improvements — projects like paving and drainage control, for example — topped many aldermen’s to-do list for the remainder of the term.
In emails to The Dispatch, Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver said he is in the process of identifying more discretionary spending options for his ward and “would be in full support of more roads being repaved” in the future, while Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn touted a previous city-county effort to improve Airport Road, an important industrial thoroughfare.
“Several small projects will soon be underway that will involve overlaying Louisville Street/Old Highway 25, and Daniels Drive will receive overlay repairs. An area of residential neighborhoods will soon be receiving striping,” Wynn said in an email. “It was my goal to address every area in my ward that most needed some form of repairing. At the end of this term, I will have accomplished these goals.”
Both Little and Ward 5 Alderman Scott Maynard also identified ward-specific projects that should come to fruition this year — Banyan Road repairs and drainage work for Colonial Hills and Country Club Estates for Ward 3, and the Russell Street improvement project for Ward 5 — and Perkins is championing a process to convert five Ward 6 roads — Fannie Dale Road, Hendrix Road, Jessie Road, Roundhouse Road and Treasure Lane — from privately owned thoroughfares to public roads.
Officials held a public work session with residents to acquire deeds of trust to the land and will continue offering services until the entirety of the area becomes under city control.
That transition will allow Starkville to dedicate resources toward infrastructure improvements.
Perkins also identified fully staffing Fire Station No. 5 with firefighters, making mindful school board appointments and keeping taxes low as some of his goals for the remainder of the term.
Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn did not respond to an email requesting end-of-the-term goals.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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