STARKVILLE — Starkville aldermen will hold a special-call meeting next week to discuss two potential consultants to implement the $12.66 million federal grant the city received in November to revamp a mile of Highway 182, or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Four engineering firms submitted proposals, and the four-person selection committee ranked the ones from Neel-Schaffer and Kimley-Horn as the two best options, City Engineer Edward Kemp said.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development, or BUILD Transportation Discretionary Grant program, funds “projects that have a significant local or regional impact,” according to the DOT website. The project will make the stretch of road between North Long Street and Old West Point Road more pedestrian-friendly and wheelchair-accessible, increase broadband access and improve infrastructure and stormwater drainage.
Kemp, Mayor Lynn Spruill, Assistant City Engineer Cody Burnett and Starkville Utilities General Manager Terry Kemp made up the consultant selection committee. City Attorney Chris Latimer said he reviewed the proposals with them but did not have a vote.
Kimley-Horn was the committee’s top choice. It is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina and has offices in Ridgeland, Memphis and Birmingham. Neel-Schaffer is based in Jackson and has offices in both Starkville and Columbus.
The city proposed in its grant application that it would have until 2026 to finish the project, but the Federal Highway Administration and the Mississippi Department of Transportation constricted the timeline to 2024, and two years make a big difference, Spruill said.
Kemp said the project must be fully accepted and approved by MDOT by September 2021, “which seems like a long way away, but really is just like a couple weeks away.”
Several board members and Spruill agreed that both firms were well-qualified and would do a good job with the project. Spruill wanted the board to approve either consultant at the meeting, but the aldermen did not reach a consensus.
Ward 2 Alderman Sandra Sistrunk said she would want to be certain the board was choosing the best option if the project were in her ward.
“I’m concerned that we’re selling ourselves short by not considering the design components and opportunities that are part of this project,” Sistrunk said. “Either (firm) is going to give us a very fine engineering project, but to me this is bigger than an engineering project.”
She suggested a special-call meeting to look more closely at both firms’ proposals. The board unanimously agreed.
Spruill said she thinks Kimley-Horn is marginally the better choice for the project, “aesthetically speaking and in terms of creativity.”
“Neel-Schaffer brings a strong engineering background, and engineering is a major component of this, but what’s above ground is what’s going to matter to your everyday citizen who drives that corridor,” she told The Dispatch. “We need to make sure the project is considered as a part of the community as a whole, not just what goes underground and won’t be seen.”
Industrial park development to move forward
The board approved three motions with a 6-1 vote to further the construction of North Star Industrial Park. The board passed a notice of intent to issue up to $3.5 million in general obligation bonds to fund the development of the park and authorized the use of existing bond proceeds for the construction of two building pads.
The board also approved an interlocal agreement between the city and Oktibbeha County to share equally in the bond debts and fee-in-lieu payments for the project.
“Fee-in-lieu of ad valorem taxes” exempts companies from property taxes for a set number of years in exchange for a fee paid to the city, county and school district. State law dictates that the fee cannot be less than one-third of what a company would ordinarily pay in taxes.
Oktibbeha supervisors approved the same three measures at their Monday meeting.
Perkins was the sole dissenter on all three measures because general obligation bonds have the potential to generate a tax increase, he said.
“I’m not against the growth of businesses and economic development,” he told The Dispatch. “I’m just a very conservative steward of the taxpayers’ purse.”
The city and county previously issued a combined $14 million in bonds in July 2017 to fund the construction of the park.
Tess Vrbin was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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