STARKVILLE — If the county approves its part of a proposed tax abatement deal at the beginning of next month, the city may be getting a new $10 million hotel, creating few jobs but almost a hundred desperately-needed hotel rooms.

The board of aldermen already approved the city’s part of a 12-year tax abatement deal at its Tuesday meeting after hearing from Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins during executive session.

If approved by the county board of supervisors at its next meeting, both entities will offer tax abatements for the construction of a hotel with about 85 rooms, Mayor Lynn Spruill told The Dispatch after the meeting.

The board kept much about the proposed tax abatement deal under wraps, including the name of the hotel company involved in the deal. The location also went unspecified, although Spruill said it would be “on the west side of the city.”

Starkville hotels currently boast a cumulative 875 rooms, Spruill said, but during sports games or music events peak demand is closer to 1,200.

“We’re in desperate need of additional hotel rooms in this community,” Spruill said. “We’re short almost 300 rooms. For our events, and in particular for the Cornerstone Park sports events. We’re in need of additional hotel rooms which is what this would bring to the community.”

Ward 2 Alderwoman and budget chair Alderwoman Sandra Sistrunk told The Dispatch the abatement agreement would last 12 years or until the amount reaches $1 million, whichever comes first. She said both the city and the county’s parts would come through ad valorem (property) taxes, though the city would also use a portion of its sales tax.

The proposal still needs to be approved by supervisors at their next meeting Dec. 2, but if it gets the go-ahead, the hotel could be up and running in as few as 18 months. That partnership is made possible by the regional economic development act.

The hotel would only bring around 15 jobs, which Spruill admitted didn’t compare to the labor impact of larger industrial projects like the Aluminum Dynamics mill slated to open in Columbus in 2025. Still, she said the economic impact of increased hotel room supply would be significant.

“It’s not a huge number of jobs for the labor force,” she said. “But while of course I want jobs, I’m most interested in having people stay in town. Because they eat in town, they shop in town, they buy gas in town. Those are what’s important about this particular project. It does bring jobs, but it’s important for other reasons.”

Higgins did not respond to calls and messages from The Dispatch by press time Tuesday.

Amended alcohol vending rules

The board also held a third public hearing for an amendment to the city’s alcohol ordinances, which eventually passed on a 4-3 vote, with Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins dissenting alongside Ward 5 Alderman Hamp Beatty and Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn. There were no changes from the language proposed in the second public hearing.

Businesses will be able to request from the aldermen an exemption to the requirement that they make 25% of their revenue from food before they sell beer or light wine. That exemption does not transfer with a change in ownership.

Businesses selling liquor on city-designated “heightened security days” such as sports games will need a security guard from 11 p.m. to 30 minutes after closing. Businesses selling alcohol in the Leisure and Entertainment District past 11 p.m., or businesses granted an exemption to the food requirement, must maintain cameras watching their entrances and public spaces.

That will go into effect 30 days after approval, on Dec. 19.

News Editor Abigail Sipe Rochester contributed to this report.