Oktibbeha County supervisors voted 4-1 Monday to request cost quotes for decommissioning the Oktibbeha County Lake dam.
Supervisors gave the go-ahead March 7 for a design plan to repair the dam. The county intended to use much of its $9 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds toward the project — estimated at $15 million to $17 million to complete — with hopes of obtaining state ARPA matching funds to cover the difference.
Last week, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality informed the county ARPA rules would not allow the state to provide matching funds for the project, since the lake was not a “drinking water” lake. There are also questions of how much of the county’s ARPA funds can legally be used toward fixing the dam.
Board president Bricklee Miller, who represents District 4 and has publicly advocated for decommissioning the lake, moved Monday to request quotes for that work as a cheaper alternative to full repairs.
The only dissenting vote to putting out an RFQ to get a cost estimate for decommissioning the dam was District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer. He told The Dispatch after the meeting that while he is not opposed to getting a cost estimate for decommissioning the dam, he is opposed to bringing another group in to generate the cost estimate.
The county has contracted with Mississippi Engineering Group to supervise the design work for dam repairs. So far, the county has agreed to pay MEG nearly $500,000 for that work.
“Why can’t we use the group we’ve already got?” he asked during the meeting. “Because you get another RFQ, you’ve got to bring another group in. They may not get the information that the group has now and that’s going to cause this project to be even more extensive.”
Miller did not allow Trainer to amend her motion, explaining that she believed competition between the firms to be beneficial.
“I think that competition is good, and I think that if you have another group saying, ‘it’s going to cost this to be decommissioned,’ it could possibly bring the cost of the design down as well. The taxpayers have paid for those studies, so that’s eligible to any group that comes in and uses it,” Miller said.
District 3 Supervisor Marvell Howard, who lives near the lake, repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the board’s progress on fixing the dam. He referred to exploration of decommissioning the dam a “delay tactic.”
Ultimately, Howard voted yes, but his vote was contingent on the board allowing the MEG to continue with designs for dam repair.
“The only thing continuing to happen is delay tactics,” he said. “So the best thing to do is vote to move forward because I can see from the time this started there’s been nothing but delay tactics. And this is another one,” he said. “So, let’s spend some more of the taxpayers dollars moving forward with this because I think at the end of the day the taxpayers are going to see that the decision we made (to repair the dam) was the right decision…it’s going to show we’ll spend less money fixing the dam.”
If the county can prove that it earned less revenue than expected, ARPA funds can be used to replenish the general fund up to $10 million. To do this, though, the county would have to evaluate exactly how much tax revenue was lost in 2020.
However, it remains unclear whether replenishing the general fund with ARPA dollars, and then using the general fund to pay for dam repairs is permissible either.
Library board
The board unanimously appointed David Garraway to fill a vacant seat on the Starkville-Oktibbeha County Public Library Board of Trustees.
The board seat has been vacant since it was vacated by Roy Smith, who resigned in fall 2021 over concerns about LGBTQ+ books on display at the library.
“Libraries are at the heart of the community. They serve as gathering spaces to learn and share knowledge and a healthy library is a sign of a healthy community,” Garraway told The Dispatch. “I come from a family that includes career librarians and educators and believe we have a responsibility to advocate for public institutions.”
A Starkville resident since 2010 residing in District 4, Garraway also serves as director of the Mississippi State University Television Center, a role he has been in since 2014.
“I look forward to working alongside the rest of the board to ensure Starkville has access to a library that meets the needs of the entire community for the betterment of all,” he said.
The library board is made up of 10 members. Five each are appointed by Starkville aldermen and Oktibbeha supervisors. Board members are appointed for five-year terms with a limit of two consecutive terms. Garraway will finish Smith’s term, which ends in September. This term does not count toward Garraway’s two consecutive term limit if he seeks reappointment.
“The library is definitely a very valuable tool to have in our community,” Trainer said. “I certainly would encourage you to stop by and you’ll see that it’s extremely valuable.”
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