The Board of Aldermen debated establishing a litter program at its weekend retreat, but members took no action.
A litter program is part of the city’s reorganization effort for the environmental services and sanitation department. The most recent step the city took was moving rubbish services in-house.
Mayor Parker Wiseman said the city’s efforts over the past year have been to get closer to establishing the program. Forecasting a budget is easier now than it was two years ago.
He estimated a litter control program would cost the city $60,000 to $100,000 a year.
“We’ll have to determine whether it could be staffed or whether our program would be a more organized approach to coordinating volunteer programs and our blue bag group, which allows people to work off fines to the city,” Wiseman said.
Another possibility, the mayor said, is coordinating with the Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office to use inmates for litter control efforts.
Renewed discussion on municipal facilities
The board again talked about new municipal facilities. Wiseman said the next year is the last opportunity for this administration to resolve the issue.
He downplayed the notion that the board’s only hope to raise the money is through a public-private partnership. Residents voted strongly against the bond issue; 65 percent voted against.
“It’s an attempt to take a different approach on the project that’s been taken in the past,” Wiseman said. “The old saying is the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. We’ve now had three major processes that involved issuing general obligation bonds for this project. None of those processes has resolved the issue.
“The hope here is that perhaps by taking a creative approach, we can find that win-win situation for the community.”
Public-private partnerships help make building projects tax-neutral. The mayor believes a renovated and remodeled City Hall could be an attractive space for urban development, with the possibility of leasing newly created office space to help offset the project’s price tag.
The deadline for potential private-sector partnerships to submit proposals was Jan. 12. The board will form a committee, including select aldermen and city staff members, to evaluate the two proposals the city has received.
Capital improvement projects
The board finalized its five-year capital improvements list, capping nearly six months of work with consultant Demery Grubbs.
The board’s list is mostly street and sidewalk projects, with a cumulative cost of more than $20 million. The sidewalks/streets portion of the list includes a 1.1-mile extension of Hospital Road and a $6 million allocation to the existing road resurfacing program.
The South Montgomery redesign, which will include the installation of sidewalks and a turn lane, will cost $6.3 million.
Sewer and drainage projects from the city’s drainage improvements list were also included.
Wiseman said he expects Grubbs to draft an official capital improvements plan for the board to review and adopt in February.
“Hopefully, that process helps get everybody on the same page when determining how to fund those projects,” he said, “but it still comes down to having to allocate scarce resources.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 45 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
