STARKVILLE – Aldermen denied an exception for Burns Dirt to open a borrow pit on Pat Station Road, after a resident of a nearby home on Tuesday night raised objections to the company’s operations in the area. But the decision could lead to increased prices for construction projects in the city.

The board of aldermen voted unanimously to deny Burns Dirt’s request to build the pit at 1420 Pat Station Road, down the road from a Burns Dirt construction yard that is already operational. The area is zoned as a rural neighborhood, and a local farmer owns the lot.

A borrow pit is an area from which soil or other material is removed to be used in things like landscaping or building and roadway construction. Burns Dirt’s request included digging out such a pit, along with creating a haul road and stockpile area for the dirt.

Burns Dirt CEO Nic Parish did not attend Tuesday’s meeting, but he told The Dispatch on Wednesday that his company intended to create the borrow pit for a potential private project coming into Starkville, along with others down the line. The pit would have allowed the company to use local dirt that meets construction specifications. Currently, the company hauls about 90% of its dirt in from Lowndes County, he said, since Oktibbeha County has poor quality dirt for construction.

“(The denial) puts major developments in the city of Starkville in jeopardy,” Parish said. “… It definitely makes it more difficult for us to help bring new tax roll to the city of Starkville.”

Parish said the project would have also benefitted the location’s owner longterm, as the pit could eventually have been used as an irrigation pond to recycle rainwater onto their organic farm.

Milton Smith owns three parcels along Pat Station, including the home he’s lived in his entire life. He told the board on Tuesday that he believed the pit would exacerbate noise and dust issues he’s already experiencing from the company’s existing construction facility, where the company pulverizes concrete from demolition projects and then reuses the material.

“When they start breaking up that concrete, all you see is dust,” Smith said. “And what’s in concrete? Silica. In the air. I’m not walking around the house with no mask in my house. And I shouldn’t have to at my house. I’m 56 years old and I’ve been on that road for 56 years.”

Smith also said he and his wife cannot enjoy their home, as he claimed the company operates dump trucks and heavy machinery even outside of hours designated by the city’s noise ordinance for residential districts – 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Parish told The Dispatch on Wednesday that the Burns Dirt construction yard facility Smith was referring to has existed in its current location for longer than the 12 years he has been at the company. Less than once a year, Burns Dirt uses the facility to pulverize concrete for various projects in town, a process that is “very controlled” to follow Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality standards and takes three to four days to complete, he said.

‘Would you want this in your neighborhood?’

Ward 5 Alderman Hamp Beatty, who said he had previously spoken with Smith, agreed that the construction company’s operations have “ruined” his quality of life. Beatty also pointed out that the operations may not be tolerated in other areas of town.

“We’re accommodating Burns Dirt because they’re the ones doing the demolition on (Highway) 182 for us and doing all the demolition of those buildings from Mississippi State tearing down and rebuilding buildings,” Beatty said. “You see Burns Dirt try to go down South Montgomery and see what happens.”

When the city annexed the area around Smith’s home in 2022, Burns Dirt’s operations were grandfathered into that annexation. Smith pushed for the city to take responsibility for protecting his rights as a newly added citizen, saying he should be treated the same as any other resident.

Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn agreed, asking the board to put themselves in Smith’s shoes.

“Would you want this in your neighborhood? That’s all we’ve got to do. Ask yourself that question.” Vaughn said.

Mayor Lynn Spruill said she was “sure” code enforcement would uphold the city’s noise ordinance “in the coming days.”

Parish told The Dispatch he has payroll reports to prove his crews operate within the hours regulated by city code, and he believes “a lot of the claims are exaggerated.”

Major developments ‘in jeopardy’

While Spruill attempted to remind aldermen that the special exception was for the borrow pit and not the company’s existing facilities, Beatty asked how long Burns Dirt plans to operate on Pat Station Road.

Burns Dirt Project Manager Dow Phillips, who presented the request for the special exception to the board, didn’t know the answer to that question, and the board voted against the request shortly after.

Parish told The Dispatch that, though the company does not have plans to be in the area for decades, he is also not going to be “bullied” for having a business.

“I’m just trying to operate my family business and build things in the city of Starkville that benefit the city of Starkville, and I feel like I’m getting punished for that by the neighbors and people that benefit from it,” Parish said.

Without the pit, Parish said, the company will have to continue bringing in dirt from other places, which could affect the cost of future projects. The project the pit was originally intended to support, Parish said, will cost about $1 million more with transportation costs.

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