Starkville Parks Commission Chairman Dan Moreland tendered a letter of resignation from his post to Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins this week and will step down by the end of the year.
Effective Dec. 31, Moreland will leave behind his SPC seat, which he has held for approximately 15 years.
It is unknown why Moreland is resigning his commission. He did not return a phone call from The Dispatch on Saturday.
Perkins said he asked Moreland to serve until his term naturally expired on June 30, but the outgoing Parks leader declined the offer.
The vice mayor also declined to comment about potential replacements and said aldermen are expected to only accept the resignation letter.
In his letter, which Perkins read aloud Saturday, Moreland said his service with Starkville Parks and Recreation Department was honor to perform.
Under his leadership, the vice mayor said, SPRD experienced tremendous growth, including major infrastructure projects at its numerous facilities and the construction of the Starkville Sportsplex.
“We have established a good rapport, friendship and working relationship. He served in a very outstanding manner, in my opinion. I appreciate all of the services he rendered to the park commission and the city of Starkville,” Perkins said.
Rumors of Moreland’s resignation first surfaced Friday after city staff added an agenda item to Tuesday’s meeting that would accept an unnamed SPC representative’s resignation letter.
Numerous city staff members and elected officials declined to comment on the matter.
Recently, the Parks’ board of directors, specifically Moreland’s leadership, came under scrutiny as numerous financial problems emerged.
Since his failed 2013 election bid to become Starkville’s mayor, Moreland has found himself at odds with Mayor Parker Wiseman and other Democrats. He routinely accused Wiseman and the previous board administration – a majority of Democrats – of causing SPRD’s growing financial woes.
Funding issues became a municipal election issue in 2013 when an April audit revealed fiscal anomalies, including the fact that Moreland issued an unauthorized, $35,000 cashier’s check to help pay for the department’s J.L. King Splash Pad construction bill.
Parks also exhausted its improvement budget, an annual allotment of $180,000 funded by the city’s 2 percent food and beverage tax, by late May 2013.
A June 2013 report estimated SPC owed Starkville Electric Department more than $100,000 and forecast overdue fees and expected usage at $180,000 for that fiscal year.
Wiseman would go onto secure his second term as mayor, defeating Moreland by about 500 votes.
Board changeover that election cycle replaced four aldermen, including three sitting Democrats, with enough Moreland-Parks sympathizers to generate an almost-$100,000 funding increase in the last fiscal year.
Despite this increase, Parks continued to suffer financially.
Aldermen were forced to approve a $60,000 bailout after Parks fell short of its yearly budget in September and could not meet payroll, retirement and bill payments.
As part of the board’s conditions, the city will decrease Parks’ overall funding by $5,000 monthly beginning in April. To pay off the entire loan, the decrease needs to be extended into the next fiscal year.
Financial woes continued into October as the independent group ran almost $2,000 over budget, and a November report showed SPRD still owes SED about $61,000 in late electric bills.
Board support for a future bailout is unlikely to form as Perkins said he would not support any other financial advances.
To offset rising costs, Parks instituted a new rental pricing structure in October for its numerous pavilions and the Needmore Center. Per-player participation fees associated with youth and adult league sports were also approved.
Aldermen previously ordered an in-depth review of SPRD’s finances after approving the bailout and slated the audit’s presentation by the end of the calendar year. The report has yet to materialize in a public meeting.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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