Oktibbeha County and Starkville leaders took what Ward 3 Alderman David Little called “a bold step forward” Thursday, passing a combined $14 million bond issuance that will fund an almost 400-acre industrial park in the northern part of the city.
The issuance could come as early as September, and work on designing and installing infrastructure improvements — roads, sewer and water — could soon follow, putting the park on track for marketing by the Golden Triangle Development LINK next fall at the earliest.
Aldermen voted 4-2 to support Little’s motion to issue the bonds — Ward 2 Alderman Sandra Sistrunk and Ward 5 Alderman Patrick Miller opposed — while the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed its portion of the funding mechanism.
“We believe in this, and I believe the community does, too,” said District 1 Supervisor John Montgomery. “I think we’re now poised to see a huge benefit. I hate to spend the money, but this is going to give back to our community because it’s our best shot to attract industry. Is there risk involved? Yes, but I feel like the rewards greatly outweigh the risks. This is us toeing the line as elected representatives.”
Many prominent Starkville business leaders attended Thursday’s joint city-county board meeting and applauded aldermen and supervisors after their actions.
“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us — buy the land, engineering, design and environmental work. It’s humbling; it’s pressure; it’s overwhelming, quite frankly, sometimes,” said LINK Chief Executive Officer Joe Max Higgins. “These people truly want to make their community better. You have a room full of business people … clapping for (elected officials) raising their taxes to build a park.”
The boards’ decision to move forward and fund the LINK-backed project, located near the intersection of Highways 82 and 389, was not guaranteed as the city faces protracted litigation challenging its rezoning of the proposed park to manufacturing.
In May, 16th Circuit Judge Jim Kitchens ruled aldermen “had a reasonable evidentiary basis” for its rezoning and the change “was not arbitrary, capricious or illegal” after numerous parties owning land surrounding the proposed park — including LMK LLC, Bettye Bell, Mary S. Bell, Margaret Copeland and Laura B. White — appealed the city’s January vote.
The appellants have pushed the case to the Mississippi Supreme Court. A trial date has not been scheduled, and both aldermen and supervisors have acknowledged the litigation could go on for at least another year or two.
Despite the limbo created by the ongoing litigation, LINK attorney Chris Pace said he is confident the rezoning will stand in the higher court.
The city’s recently adopted comprehensive plan, which is also under lawsuit by the surrounding property owners, will designate the area as optional districts that include provisions for manufacturing, Pace said, thereby rendering the appellants’ rezoning challenge moot.
Additionally, installing infrastructure improvements covered by the city-county bond issuance and the possible recruitment of a distribution center for the area will also galvanize the neighborhood’s change in nature, he said.
Both Miller and Sistrunk said they preferred aldermen to take the LINK’s funding request under advisement and continue debating the issuance during Friday’s work session and Tuesday’s board meeting.
Sistrunk also said the city’s $7 million issuance will put Starkville closer to its debt cap, thereby limiting its financial capabilities to take on other expected investments, including road improvements and upgrades to its park system.
“We hear about gravel roads all the time. When I ask if you’d like to drive on a gravel road to a job or a paved road to the unemployment office, guess what I hear?” asked District 3 Supervisor Marvell Howard. “I would rather see our kids leave this county because they want to, not because they have to just to find a job.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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