During two recent tours of City Hall, a total of 21 Starkville residents walked through the 71-year-old structure on Lampkin Street and discovered what city employees have attested for years: Starkville needs a new municipal building.
Nearly a dozen citizens who toured City Hall, Starkville Municipal Court and the Starkville Police Department, all of which are located in a former armory at 101 Lampkin St., filled out questionnaires and expressed concerns about the existing facility. Much of the concern centered on inadequate court and police facilities and a lack of space throughout the building.
Municipal Court has no secure prisoner holding area — prisoners sit along a wall just feet from the courtroom audience — and there are no attorney consultation areas, which “is a major ethical concern,” one citizen said in a questionnaire.
“Do not renovate this building,” another tour-goer said. “The city needs new facilities to meet the need of our city. We are placing people in danger daily with municipal court. I”m highly in favor of new building to meet the progress of Starkville.”
The only handicap-accessible entrance to City Hall is in the back of the building and forces users to enter the building through the courtroom, even when court is in session. Prisoners also are brought in through the entrance, where water has damaged ceiling tiles and walls.
Police headquarters also caused concern. Officers share offices, there are inadequate restroom facilities and a lack of space for interviews and other functions.
“The police department is clearly trying hard to make effective use of cramped and outdated facilities,” one citizen said in a questionnaire.
The mayor”s office wing, city clerk”s office and second-floor city staff offices also are cramped and falling into disrepair.
“A newer, larger facility seems long overdue,” one citizen said.
“Starkville is no longer a small town,” another citizen said. “Time to grow up, raise some taxes and act like adults.”
Starkville”s citizen-led municipal complex committee recommended the city hold tours of City Hall to show the public the deteriorating condition of the building. Mayor Parker Wiseman and the Board of Aldermen have said a bond issue most likely would be needed to fund a new municipal building or buildings.
The municipal complex committee has begun to look at possible sites for a new municipal building, though the group has gone into executive session for discussions to keep proposed locations private. Prices for land would skyrocket if word spread that the city was considering whether or not to purchase a parcel or parcels for a municipal building, transportation committee chairman Roy Ruby has said.
The municipal complex committee is considering whether to recommend the city renovate the existing City Hall structure, construct a new building or both.
The municipal complex committee meets again Jan. 5.
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