STARKVILLE — The Touch of Luv Barber and Beauty Salon’s driveway connecting it to the stretch of Highway 182 is about to be reopened.

But the reopening raised concerns at Tuesday evening’s board of aldermen meeting about losing millions in grant funding for the city’s project to revitalize a one-mile stretch of Highway 182, which includes the section named after Martin Luther King Jr. connected to Johnson’s barbershop.

Aldermen voted 4-3 to approve the reopening of the driveway leading to Larry “Luv” Johnson’s barber shop, which has been located on the corner of Earnest H. Jones Drive and Highway 182 since it opened in 1994, with a driveway leading to each until construction closed the 182 entrance.

“Corner lots are highly sought after in businesses due to their high visibility, dual access making them ideal for attracting customers and maximizing potential for revenue, increased exposure and potential for larger signage and a significant boost in business … has been taken away from me,” Johnson told the board Tuesday night. “There’s no point in having a corner lot without dual access.”

Later in the meeting, Ward 5 Alderman Hamp Beatty agreed with Johnson’s claim and moved to restore the former driveway that is currently closed by grass and new sidewalks.

“I do think it will have a material effect on his business going forward,” Beatty said. “And I do think that the city, we’re redeveloping that part of town, it’s a beautiful streetscape we’re putting in. But someone’s business should not be inhibited or damaged because – we want it to look good but we want it to function.”

Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn agreed with Beatty, arguing that other businesses on the highway had not been given the same treatment.

Mayor Lynn Spruill objected to the idea of the revitalization project being primarily for beautification, saying it is at its core an infrastructure and transportation project, with millions of dollars going to water and sewer upgrades beneath the surface.

The ‘whole kit and caboodle’ at risk?

Ward 2 alderwoman and budget chair Sandra Sistrunk raised other alarms, saying that there were still too many unknowns about how the change would affect the entire $43 million revitalization project.

While Mississippi Department of Transportation ceded the milelong stretch of highway to the city in 2023, she said the structure of the grants funding the project would mean MDOT must still approve all project changes. Construction plans for the project were informed by an access management plan, which regulates vehicles entering and exiting the highway from a variety of sources, created in conjunction with MDOT.

“What we don’t know about that area is whether MDOT will approve that change at this point in time,” Sistrunk said. “We don’t know what it would cost. And it would absolutely certainly have to be borne completely by the city. MDOT will not give additional funds to cover this cost. And we don’t know what the timeframe will be. That is particularly important, because the grants that are funding this particular project are on a very tight timeline.”

The project is currently being funded through a Better Utilizing Investments to Development grant worth roughly $12.6 million with a 20% match from the city, along with $10.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds and state match and a $19 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant through U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker’s office (R-Mississippi).

Sistrunk told The Dispatch the BUILD grant must be spent by 2026, while other funds have their own commitment deadlines. And with compliance requirements potentially comingled, Sistrunk said, extensions to the project could put “the whole kit and caboodle” at risk.

“Anything that causes us to delay past those dates jeopardizes all those funds,” Sistrunk said. “So we have to get those grants spent. … There’s succession spending that has to be done.”

While she expressed a desire for Johnson’s business to succeed, Sistrunk told The Dispatch that changing the project for one business owner could lead to others requesting changes, which could affect the project’s timeline further and make it miss its marks to keep its funding. She also said the RAISE funds, though budgeted to go to the city, have not yet materialized due to the overall uncertainty of federal funding.

When Vaughn continued to insist that businesses be given equal treatment, comparing Johnson’s barbershop to a convenience store’s entrance to Highway 182 on the corner with D.L. Connor Drive, Ward 1 Alderwoman Kim Moreland chimed in as the convenience store’s owner, saying she would do nothing to risk the project’s funding.

“If it would have come to me, I would say right now that we can close that entrance, because that’s how important this project is to the city of Starkville,” Moreland said.

Moreland also said she believed Johnson’s business would continue to succeed without its Highway 182 entrance, based on his longstanding relationships in the community.

Vaughn argued that the city has caused “lots of hardship” for Johnson’s business, and when it came to a vote, the board split in Johnson’s favor. Beatty, Vaughn, Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins and Ward 3 Alderman Jeffrey Rupp voted to restore the driveway, while Moreland, Sistrunk and Ward 4 Alderman Mike Brooks opposed.

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