Oktibbeha seeing increase in economic activity

Starkville takes action to reduce crime

As mask mandates and COVID-19 precautions have decreased, Starkville and Oktibbeha County have seen an increase in sales, recreation and social interaction.

Return to normalcy

The city of Starkville and Oktibbeha County both lifted their mask mandates and capacity limitations in spring 2020 after several months of requiring masks inside buildings. This allowed businesses and restaurants to fully open their doors to customers.

Mississippi State University lifted its capacities on sporting events in the spring allowing many fans to attend MSU baseball games. The university broke the postseason record on attendance at the June 12 Starkville Super Regional game, becoming the fifth largest crowd in MSU history. Tailgating also returned to MSU this fall after a year off due to COVID-19.

National championship

Mississippi State University set another record in 2021, winning its first national championship at the College World Series in Omaha on June 30. The Diamond Dawgs returned to Starkville not only with a gold trophy, but a title representing the entire city of Starkville.

Along with excitement from fans near and far, business sales boomed in the city after the win. Several businesses began selling national championship programs and instantly had extreme increases in revenue the months following the championship.

Crime prevention measures

While Starkville saw an increase in crime throughout 2021, the city took action and instituted many preventive measures.

Starkville Police Department now uses innovative body cameras to ensure safety and accountability. These “BodyWorn” cameras use artificial intelligence to create situational awareness and community transparency. BodyWorn works by syncing to a police vehicle after driving more than 15 mph. These cameras are continuously “pre-event” recording, but not until a “trigger” occurs do they begin to actively record. After a video is finished recording, it automatically uploads into cloud storage within seconds, providing security of the video. SPD also added 14 new cars and a motorcycle to its fleet, which will phase out some of the department’s older vehicles.

Officer Gabriel Texidor displays a body camera

The Starkville board of aldermen enacted a citywide juvenile curfew beginning in the summer. The intention of this curfew is to keep minors home during the late hours of the night to mitigate juvenile crime. Starkville also negotiated an agreement with the Lowndes County Detention Center to reserve two beds full time from the complex for troubled Starkville city juveniles, providing them an opportunity to find improvement.

SOCSD gets COVID relief funds

The Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District received nearly $24 million in American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief funds since March. Much of the funding will be used for building upgrades across the district to help create a cleaner learning environment for students. The aid also is funding particular Elementary and Secondary Education Act programs, such as low-income assistance, teacher training and enhancement and gifted-student funding.

Transportation and park management

Bird, an electric scooter ride-sharing service, delivered a fleet of scooters to Starkville in early spring. After a few months, the board of aldermen and SPD began receiving complaints about misuse of the devices, such as riding them down highways and sidewalks and users operating them under the influence. The city ultimately approved a contractual agreement with Bird to follow the board’s jurisdictional limits.

Blackjack Road in Oktibbeha County received its first layer of blacktop this summer. This construction project has been in the works for several years and is now nearing completion. After only having two lanes, this county road will not be a newly paved three-lane road with a turning lane in the middle.

Cornerstone Park in Starkville continues construction and finds new management under third-party construction company Sports Facility management. Cornerstone will be a tournament-based complex filled with softball and baseball fields. Starkville Parks and Recreation Department also recently partnered with SFM to help manage all parks across the city. This contractual agreement will improve the overall quality of Starkville’s parks while offering programming, such as new sporting activities and juvenile crime reduction programs.

Starkville Parks and Rec also reopened the Moncrief Park pool for summer 2021. The department made major improvements to the pool through available money in the department’s budget. The upgrades include establishing new signage, painting the pool deck and putting pool chairs out for residents to use.

County plans new consolidated building

The Oktibbeha County board of supervisors began discussing preliminary plans for a new consolidated county building. Oktibbeha County’s eight buildings’ average age is 58 years with a total replacement value of $31 million. The county has been working closely with Columbus-based architectural firm Major Design Studio for the planning process of deciding what needs will be met and how. No immediate decisions have been made yet regarding funding a new headquarters.

Oktibbeha County also issued $10 million in bonds to fund capital projects throughout the county. These bonds would fund road projects and potentially redo the dam at the Oktibbeha County Lake.

STORY BY TYLER B. JONES