STARKVILLE — The board of aldermen’s decision to reopen an access point to Larry “Luv” Johnson’s business, Touch of Luv Barber and Beauty Salon, was vetoed by Mayor Lynn Spruill in a letter this week.
Located at the corner of Earnest H. Jones Drive and Highway 182, the barber shop formerly had a dual-access driveway connected to both roads. As part of the city’s ongoing Highway 182 revitalization project, the 182 access point, which is owned by the city, was replaced with sidewalk and grass.
Spruill said the board’s 4-3 vote to restore that access would threaten the integrity and timeline of the project.
“It is my position that the board action taken with this agenda item is not in the best interests of the City of Starkville,” Spruill wrote in the letter. “It has the enormous potential to jeopardize a project that will have a dramatic and positive effect on the redevelopment of the Central Business District.”
Johnson, who first raised concerns to the board earlier this month, said the closure has impacted customer access and business visibility. At last week’s meeting, Vice Mayor and Ward 2 Alderman Roy A. Perkins, Ward 5 Alderman Aldermen Hamp Beatty, Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn and Ward 3 Alderman Jeffrey Rupp voted in favor of reopening the driveway. Ward 2 Alderwoman Sandra Sistrunk, Ward 1 Alderwoman Kim Moreland and Ward 4 Alderman Mike Brooks opposed. Both Beatty and Rupp will leave the board June 30.
Johnson told The Dispatch on Tuesday that while disappointed, he wasn’t surprised by Spruill’s decision to veto.
“I kind of figured that was going to happen,” Johnson said. “I just have to wait the process out and see what all of them are going to do, and I’ll go from there.”
Spruill cited funding uncertainty and strict timelines imposed by the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration as reasons for the veto. Any changes to the project, Spruill said, require approval from both agencies.
The project is currently being funded through a Better Utilizing Investments to Development grant worth roughly $12.6 million with a 20% match from the city, along with $10.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds and state match and a $19 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant through U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker’s office (R-Mississippi).
The BUILD grant must be spent by 2026, while other funds have their own commitment deadlines.
“Obtaining the required approval, assuming that is even possible, from these agencies, takes time that we do not have as this project is already under time constraints from unforgiving grant restrictions,” Spruill wrote in the letter. “Additionally, the funding for the full completion of this project is not currently guaranteed as the final amount that has been set aside for the city of Starkville is currently under a reconsideration hold by the new federal administration.”
Spruill said there is about $20 million on hold. Even the appearance of uncertainty about the construction plan could jeopardize the funding, she said.
Sistrunk voiced similar concerns during last week’s meeting, warning that delays could put “the whole kit and caboodle” at risk.
Beatty, whose term as alderman ends next week, said he “vehemently disagreed” with Spruill’s decision to veto and dismissed the funding concerns as speculative.
“Had we asked (Mississippi Department of Transportation) for an exception for this man, they might have granted it,” Beatty said. “We don’t know. We’ll never know now because the mayor has vetoed it.”
Spruill told The Dispatch on Tuesday that she hadn’t received direct confirmation from MDOT or FHWA that reopening the driveway would endanger funding, but she said prior experiences informed her judgment.
“I think conversations with MDOT and with (FHWA) were very indicative that it would create problems for the project,” Spruill said. “As we try to make changes, they would then have to take it up the chain, which causes delays which would then further imperil the project. … So I don’t have that as a firm, but I have that as a strong belief based on our previous interactions with the various highway departments, as well as our previous grants with them and (what) they are receptive to and what it takes to get things done.”
Spruill also said the city would have to pay for any changes through ad valorem taxes, since no additional funding is available for modifications.
Beatty rejected that argument, pointing to tax breaks the city has offered large developers.
“There’s a lot of taxpayer money being doled out to developers who build big, high profile projects,” Beatty said. “… If you’re a big enough, shiny enough project in Starkville, and there’s more coming down the road, they’ll get a tax incentive. … And (the little bit of cost) it would take to put the driveway in pales in comparison to these big tax giveaways we give to these hotel developers and shopping center developers.”
Overriding the mayor’s veto requires five votes. With Beatty and Rupp leaving office next week, that threshold may be out of reach. The board can revisit the issue during a special-call meeting or the July 1 regular meeting.
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