STARKVILLE – Work to extend sewer service to the final portions of areas annexed into the city nearly three decades ago could begin next year after the city secured a $700,000 Community Development Block Grant.
Mayor Lynn Spruill announced during Friday morning’s aldermen work session that the city had received final approval for the grant from Gov. Tate Reeves. The funding will pay the lion’s share of a $1.29 million project to bring sewer lines and connections to about 30 homes along Henderson and Sand roads.
Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn, who voiced frustration over the project’s slow progress during the board’s March 3 meeting, said residents have waited years for the improvement.
“Twenty-seven years is a long time,” Vaughn told Phylis Benson, who wrote the grant application as project analyst for Golden Triangle Planning Development District. “… But I’m sure the people on Sand Road and Henderson Road appreciate you very much. … I’ve seen their tears.”
Henderson and Sand roads represent the last remaining portion of roughly 10 square miles annexed north and west of Starkville in 1998 that still lack sewer service.
The grant requires a $590,000 city match, which will come from water and sewer capital improvement funds, said Edward Kemp, general manager of Starkville Utilities.
Kemp said construction is expected to begin in 2027 and could take six to nine months to complete.
Other projects
Kemp also updated aldermen on six other federally funded water and wastewater projects underway or in development across the city.
The largest project is the aerator and electrical rehabilitation at the Ernest E. Jones Wastewater Treatment Plant. The work, which includes constructing a new headworks facility, restoring clarifiers and replacing six aerators, is about 43% complete.
The project costs more than $10 million, with about $700,000 funded by the city and the remainder coming from grants through the Mississippi Development Authority, the American Rescue Plan Act and the Mississippi Municipality and County Water Infrastructure grant program. Kemp said the work is expected to be finished this fall.
Another major effort is the Influent Lift Station project, funded by a $720,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission and an $850,000 city match. The project will replace pumps and valves at the station, repair erosion in the wet well and construct a bypass pump so the facility can remain operational while work is underway. Completion is expected between June and August.
The city is also preparing to replace the force main along Stark Road, a transmission line that carries wastewater from north Starkville to the treatment plant. The project received a $750,000 ARC grant and requires a $950,000 city match.
The city recently received environmental review approval and will contract with Clearwater Consultants for the design phase. Construction is expected to begin in 2027.
Design work is also underway on improvements to the Josey Creek sewage pumping station and is about 30% complete. The station currently sits on private property and is one of the primary facilities feeding into the Stark Road main transmission line.
The project would relocate the station to the northwest corner of the Oktibbeha County Economic Development Authority property at NorthStar Industrial Park, improving access for maintenance and allowing room for future industrial expansion.
The project is expected to cost about $2.7 million, including roughly $700,000 in leftover MDA funds. Kemp said the project should be completed by fall 2027.
Separately, the city recently received a $1.9 million EPA grant to improve and consolidate water lines in the Bluefield area. Design work on that project has not yet begun
In addition to projects already funded, the city has secured or requested several new grants for future infrastructure work.
Starkville recently accepted a $1.5 million EPA grant for additional wastewater treatment plant improvements, which will require a $300,000 local match. Kemp said the scope of that project has not yet been determined.
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