Starkville’s administration appears to have solved what past leaders, numerous studies and failed bond referendums could not in the last two decades: Mayor Parker Wiseman and the board of aldermen are on track to finance renovations that will give the city’s police department a permanent home.
A resolution authorizing the future issuance of up to $3 million in general obligation bonds was unanimously approved on consent Tuesday after no protests emerged against the financing package.
Last month, aldermen forecast a spring issuance to fund a massive overhaul of City Hall for Starkville Police Department’s full usage once officials and staff move to their new administrative home under construction at the end of Main Street.
Where SPD should locate and how to fund new construction or renovations have yielded contentious debate and even a lawsuit in the last two decades. Numerous locations were floated — near the Highway 82 bypass, the former Bulldog Lanes property and at the intersection of Jackson Street and Highway 182, for example — and voters shot down multiple bond referendums.
The prior board of aldermen eventually chose City Hall once another contentious debate — a public-private partnership to construct a $6.7 million administrative headquarters — was approved with the addition of certificates of participation to renovate the building for police usage.
Aldermen last year toyed with the idea of purchasing Cadence Bank’s Main Street property and converting it to a police station, but leaders balked at renovation costs and shifted their focus back to City Hall.
What was a divisive topic transitioned into ho-hum business as aldermen approved the resolution authorizing the issuance on consent with no real discussion.
“Looking at the totality of the issue — going all the way back when Robert Rogers donated the old Wal-Mart to the city for what was going to be the first police station project in the mid-90s to the failed public (bond) processes — we now have a unanimous vote by the board of aldermen with broad, public support with moving forward in a manner that has drawn few negative comments,” Wiseman said.
In March, aldermen showed interest in a plan that will renovate a majority of City Hall, provide additional structural improvements to its exterior and improve the parking lot adjacent to Washington Street.
Initial estimates put those costs at $2.8 million, but Ward 5 Alderman Scott Maynard, who chairs the city’s budget committee, said he anticipates using about $2.4 million on the project.
The city will hold off on the bond issuance so it can apply for grants to alleviate costs and could even ask state lawmakers for an appropriation for improvements.
Renovation efforts could conclude, Wiseman said, by summer 2017.
“I am excited about getting into the new city hall and starting the police station,” Maynard said. “The police station has been a long time coming.”
City hall construction on target
City Hall construction efforts remain on budget, and officials predict a November move-in date for the new facility, Chief Administrative Officer Taylor Adams confirmed Tuesday.
Approximately $1.26 million of the beginning $6.49 million construction fund remained — administrative costs associated with the $6.7 million project were previously deducted — as of May 1, he said, and staff members are working to identify furnishings needed for the building.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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