City not maintaining infrastructure
On Sept. 9, City of Starkville workers dug up a water main beside Highway 12, right in the middle of the busiest business district.
They left the open flowing water main unattended with the water running into a storm drain. The storm drain clogged, and the parking lots of Backstage Music and Gentiva Hospice were flooded.
After calls to the mayor, a city crew returned, unplugged the clog and said they had repaired the broken water main.
The ground never dried, water continued to run from the ground.
City officials told me the water flow would be fixed about two weeks after the first time they said it would be fixed.
The water never stopped running.
Frankly, the city is not demonstrating they have the will or ability to maintain their existing infrastructure. The city should not be forcing business owners to build new infrastructure (sidewalks) for the city, especially when the city does not take care of the infrastructure they already have.
Here is a link to video of Sept. 10 and Oct. 21.
The video is not a listed video, so it can be accessed only via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUphiSlyoqQ
Allen McBroom
Self Creek Community
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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