GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN OKTIBBEHA COUNTY
Starkville received a $12.66 million federal grant in November to make one mile of Highway 182 more pedestrian-friendly and wheelchair-accessible, to increase broadband access, improve infrastructure and stormwater drainage. The city applied three years in a row for a USDOT grant which funds "projects that have a significant local or regional impact.
” Activity to put the grant to use has begun in earnest, though construction will not start until 2021, Mayor Lynn Spruill said, “We’ve had meetings (and) we’ve gotten some proposals, so now we have to select a prime contractor.”
The land can be designated commercial, industrial, conservation or traditional neighborhood, and developers will not have to go through the costly rezoning process.
CHANGES TO CITY DEPARTMENTS
The aldermen unanimously chose Mark Ballard, previously an administrative captain, as Starkville’s new police chief in November. Ballard took over Dec. 31 for Frank Nichols, who retired after 27 years with the Starkville Police Department and five as its chief.
Ballard restructured the police department in December with the goal of increasing retention, addressing an increased number of calls and reducing overtime hours. He added and eliminated some positions to create "a clarity of chain of command,” that the department previously lacked, he said at the time.
The engineering and streets department also underwent a restructure in November to make it more efficient and responsive. In addition to reorganizing positions and responsibilities, the department implemented a mobile work order system Jan. 1 that was already in place in the utilities department. The system tracks time and location as well as notifies customers as soon as the assignment is finished.
INDUSTRIAL AND RECREATIONAL PARKS
The North Star Industrial Park under construction near the interchange of Highways 82 and 389 might get a $1 billion capital investment from a development codenamed Project Trinity, which will create 100 to 150 jobs for six-figure wages, LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins told city and county leaders in January.
The Golden Triangle Development LINK has plans for 230 of the park's 360 acres, including a 50,000 square-foot "speculative building," or an empty building with the goal of attracting a new business. Another planned occupant, Project Royal, would create 200 jobs in the textiles and advanced manufacturing industry. District 1 Supervisor and Board President John Montgomery said he is excited to see industry grow in the county.
“The park is doing what it’s intended to do: create jobs and put Oktibbeha County where we haven’t been in decades,” he said. “People have always asked why we haven’t had industrial growth in this county. It’s because we haven’t had an industrial park.”
Spruill said Project Trinity “would be a gamechanger.”
Meanwhile, officials broke ground for the construction of a new, 25,000 square-foot U.S. Army Reserve Center at Cornerstone Park in January. The current center has been at the intersection of Willow Road and Highway 12 since 1958.
The city will consider adding to its plans to renovate Moncrief Park in order to give it an aesthetic update. The park is already set to have new restrooms, a pool deck and pool house, and the possible additions include a more ADA-accessible pavilion, pergolas for shade, a concessions area and more open space for seating and socializing.
The first phase of long-planned improvements at Fire Station Park is underway and expected to be finished in August, Starkville Main Street Association vice chair Hagan Walker said. The first change will be the transfer of the pavilion at the intersection of Jackson and Lampkin streets to the southwest corner of the park, in time for the annual King Cotton Crawfish Boil to take place at the park for the first time in April.
The Greater Starkville Development Partnership, Starkville's chief economic development and tourism group, chose a new CEO after the position was open for almost 18 months. Mike Tagert is also associate director for corporate engagement and economic development in the Research and Economic Development office at Mississippi State University, a new dual role for the Partnership CEO. Tagert was the Northern District Commissioner for the Mississippi Department of Transportation from 2011 to 2019 and chose not to run for reelection.
ROADWAYS AND FOOTPATHS
The county’s plans to rebuild and expand a portion of Blackjack Road from Bardwell Street west to Stone Boulevard have been in the works for years, but the county needed the right-of-way on four properties before starting the project. It obtained the right-of-way through the courts in November via "quick take" legal action, similar to eminent domain.
The supervisors unanimously voted in February to accept a bid of $8 million from Columbus-based Burns Dirt Construction to move forward with the project: widening the road, making drainage improvements, repaving and laying the groundwork for future improvements such as lighting and sidewalks.
Construction on Longview Road to replace culverts and widen the road so it can handle heavy amounts of traffic is still set to finish later this year, Montgomery said.
“I’m excited for both sides of the county because both projects are very vital to (our) continued growth and success,” he said. “We’ll be able to handle more traffic, more people, more growth.”
In November, Starkville started adding 14 sections of sidewalks to fill in gaps on Highway 12, from Stark Road to just east of Spring Street, to make the road safer for its frequent pedestrian traffic.
The city and county began discussions in October to turn the railroad that runs southwest to northeast through the county, from Ackerman to West Point, into a walking and biking trail. The trail would be part of the national network created by the nonprofit Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, the nation's largest trail organization, according to its website.
The railroad has not been used in years but still brings in about $80,000 in property taxes that the county splits with the city and the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. Area residents already use the railroad as a recreational path. Kansas City Southern, the company that owns the railroad, has stalled conversations for now, but Spruill said she will not give up on it.
“From my perspective, they don’t use that area, so why hang onto something that costs you money?” she said. “Let us do something with it that will enhance this area, which includes Choctaw, Oktibbeha and Clay counties and all the cities that would be a part of that trail.”
STORY BY TESS VRBIN
PHOTOS BY DEANNA ROBINSON
