I applaud this board of alderman for taking a patient and thoughtful approach in deciding how to build a new police station. No one has ever debated that we badly need to build a police station, but most in this community have strong feelings about how it should be built.
Rather than deciding that they knew best, the board spent nearly two years involving us, the citizens of Starkville, in the process.
A committee of volunteer citizens was formed to provide a recommendation to the board. That group held public meetings for more than six months which provided an opportunity for all citizens to participate in the process. Even after that process was complete the board solicited more public input before reaching a decision on how to move forward.
The town hall meetings held in July provided a great opportunity for everyone in the community to ask questions and provide comments before the board made a decision on the project. The project we will have a chance to vote for on Sept. 27 is truly the result of a community-wide effort to meet a pressing need.
I may not agree with every decision the Starkville Board of Aldermen makes or how they go about making decisions, but in this case I must say they got it right! Now we as a community need to go out and support that which we helped create. Please vote “yes” on Sept. 27. Starkville’s future depends on it.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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