Starkville aldermen approved a free donation of Louisville Street office space and a new Synergetics lease Tuesday after three aldermen originally blocking the Lynn Spruill-owned donation left the meeting early.
Three aldermen — Ward 4’s Jason Walker, Ward 5’s Scott Maynard and Ward 6’s Roy A. Perkins — supported the motion, which was suggested by Mayor Parker Wiseman. Only Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn opposed.
Wiseman offered the compromise at the end of the meeting after the board rejected the former chief administrative officer’s offer with a 4-3 vote earlier this month. Perkins brought the matter back to table Tuesday, but it again was defeated by the same margin.
Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver, Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn and Ward 3 Alderman David Little exited Tuesday’s meeting before its conclusion about 8:30 p.m. after the board bogged down in discussions about the extended length of the proceedings.
Vaughn offered a motion to approve the Synergetics lease, but it died at the table without a second. Wiseman then suggested the board bundle both that lease and the Spruill offering, and the vote passed without those three aldermen, who previously blocked the Spruill donation, present.
“I know that this is a politically charged issue, but this is space that the police department needs,” Wiseman said.
The decision of where to house SPD while its station is being renovated has been bogged down in politics, with some on the board saying it is nonsense not to accept free space. Others, including Wynn, rejected the space because the offer is from Spruill, who has filed four ethics complaints since aldermen voted not to reappoint her days into their term.
Rent at the Synergetics Properties is $950 per month. SPD previously moved its narcotics division to the Highway 12 location in 2006, and Tuesday’s lease adds an additional two office spaces for investigators.
At the June 8 meeting, Wynn led a coalition of aldermen against approving the Spruill donation, citing both the wishes of people in her ward and the four ethics complaints Spruill has filed against board members since the board voted not to reappoint her.
Perkins brought the issue back to the table Tuesday after saying he received several complaints from constituents following the board’s previous rejection and wanted to again discuss the donation.
“I see no rational basis to deny this lease agreement,” Perkins said.
He added his decision was not personal. He supported taking the space only because it is free, has parking and the lease agreement guarantees tenants more privacy than the lease agreement with Synergetics.
Wynn said she would not support leasing Spruill’s property, again referencing the wishes of her ward and Spruill’s complaints to the ethics committee.
SPD renovations are expected to conclude in April.
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