Two sitting members of the Starkville Parks Commission confirmed Wednesday they will resign their posts in the coming weeks.
Both incoming Ward 5 Alderman Scott Maynard and Chris Taylor said they will step aside from SPC as the incoming board of aldermen takes its place at the helm of city government. State law requires
Maynard’s move, but Taylor cited time requirements for other area boards he serves. Taylor holds leadership positions with the Oktibbeha County Democratic Party and the local NAACP chapter.
More changeover could occur when Ward 6 SPC representative Dorothy Isaac’s term expires June 30.
SPC’s board of aldermen liaison Eric Parker’s term also expires June 30. If all three SPC members roll off, only four members – SPC Chairman and Ward 1 representative Dan Moreland, Ward 2 representative Wendell W. Gibson, Ward 3 representative Ray Berryhill and Ward 4 representative Pete Melby – would remain. The incoming Starkville Board of Aldermen would be tasked with finding replacements for those three seats and Parker’s liaison position.
Maynard said he’s begun seeking interested Ward 5 residents to serve as his replacement. The Mississippi State University Career Center Director said he hopes to find a liaison position in which he can use his education, experience and ties with economic development to better the city.
Incoming Ward 4 Alderman Jason Walker said he would like to take over as SPC’s board liaison, a role in which he said he could use his background as a landscape architecture associate professor. He also mentioned possibly serving as an advisor for the planning and zoning, Main Street and transportation committees.
Walker is also resigning his Ward 4’s Starkville Planning and Zoning Commission seat since he is moving up to the board of aldermen. Like Maynard, Walker is also seeking Ward 4 residents who are interested in filling the position.
All five Starkville Municipal Election Commission seats, all three Storm Water Hearing Board seats and three Historic Preservation Committee seats expire July 1, while a Starkville Board of Adjustments and Appeals Ward 3 seat expiring 2016 remains vacant. The incoming board of aldermen must name new liaisons for the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum, transportation, tree advisory and storm water boards, as well as the HPC when terms expire for Ward 4 Alderman Richard Corey, Ward 5 Alderman Jeremiah Dumas and Parker.
Two holes will also emerge on the city’s audit and budget committee in the new term as Parker and Ward 2 Alderman Sandra Sistrunk end their city tenures.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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