Starkville Utilities is asking Oktibbeha County to consider chipping in financial support for its wastewater treatment facility.
What that support will look like and how much it will cost remains to be seen.
Appearing before the board at its Monday meeting, Edward Kemp, Starkville Utilities CEO, said the county’s growth “is putting a lot of stress on our utility systems, our wastewater treatment plant being one of them.”
Built in 1979, the plant is the county’s sole wastewater treatment facility and serves Starkville, Mississippi State University and much of the county outside of city limits.
Last year, Starkville Utilities commissioned a comprehensive study of its water and wastewater facilities, including the wastewater plant. Kemp said it will set a roadmap for keeping the plant viable for the two to four decades.
General lessons of the study, Kemp said, show “operational and capacity” issues with the treatment plant. Necessary upgrades include updating the plant’s aeration system, which treats sewage, and the plant’s electrical system, which he estimates will cost between $7 million and $8 million.
Ratepayers fund wastewater treatment plant maintenance, and the city has committed $1.25 million plus a 100% state match in ARPA to the upgrades.
Other upgrades, and how the county can help, will become clearer after the study is completed, he said.
He asked if the county would consider using a portion of its American Rescue Plan Act funds to assist with future upgrades. Any portion used, he said, would be eligible for a state match.
Though District 3 Supervisor and Board President Marvell Howard said the county has already obligated $3.5 million — plus a state match — to expand the East Oktibbeha Wastewater District. However, because East Oktibbeha uses the wastewater treatment plant, its planned expansion is paused at least until Starkville Utilities’ study is completed.
District 5 Supervisor Joe Williams asked Kemp how the county could balance expansion of its services against the plant’s needs.
“If there’s no infrastructure in the county, no expansion, why would you need an expansion of the wastewater treatment facility if we don’t continue to expand?” he asked.
“If you don’t have the ability and capacity to serve and treat the wastewater, I think you have to question about continuing to expand if you’re already short and limited in capacity,” Kemp responded.
Supervisors approved setting up a meeting with city officials to discuss the matter. The date has not been determined.
When asked about specific support, Kemp said in a text to The Dispatch that he is “asking for the county to consider participating at whatever level they are able to.”
Williams told The Dispatch he is not opposed to providing support, but he needs more specifics before committing.
“I’d like to look at it and see what exactly is he requesting,” Williams said. “Primarily a monetary amount. I would like to have further discussion about some of the proceedings.”
District 1 Supervisor Ben Carver said “it’s time, from a capacity standpoint, to look ahead. … I’m OK with it. There’s some money out there in some different pots that we can maybe put together.”
Hospital meeting scheduled
Supervisors have arranged a meeting at 5 p.m. March 12 with OCH Regional Medical Center CEO Jim Jackson and the hospital board of trustees. The public meeting will take place at the hospital.
The meeting is expected to cover the hospital’s finances. OCH has lost $5.6 million over the last two years, and a majority of supervisors have expressed openness to considering getting the county out of the healthcare business, either through a lease or a sale.
Kevin Edwards is news editor and reports on Starkville and Oktibbeha County government.
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