On Tuesday, Starkville’s board of aldermen will decide whether to press ahead with drafting an annexation ordinance to add new territory to the city’s east.
Consultant Mike Slaughter, of the Oxford-based urban planning firm Slaughter and Associates, presented updated annexation study results at a Friday work session for a modified area east of Starkville. Starkville has been considering annexation for more than a year.
The process, which started in October 2017, began with three study areas — a large area along the city’s entire east side and to the south; an area on the southwestern side that would bring in the Sunset subdivision; and a small area to the north that would bring all of Collier Road within the city.
In October 2018, the board voted to narrow the scope to one area, split into two separate study areas. The area extends east along the Highway 12 and 182 corridor to Highway 82 and Clayton Village. It also extends south on the far side of Mississippi State University’s campus to San Marcos Drive.
Area A includes most of the commercial properties along the highways, while Area B includes most of the residential properties to the south.
Slaughter said the new area is a conservative one, which would increase the city’s population, based on 2010 census figures, from 25,106 people to 27,146.
Starkville’s current population, based on the 2010 census, is 59.6 percent white, 34.6 percent black and 5.7 percent other. The city, combined with both annexation areas, would be 60.2 percent white, 34.1 percent black and 5.8 percent other.
Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver asked if the city should be concerned about the slight drop in minority population as a percentage of the whole population.
Slaughter said it’s a relatively minor change, and the upcoming 2020 census will likely lead to larger shifts in the city’s recorded demographics.
“Even without annexation, they’ve likely changed more than that over the 10 years (since the 2010 census),” Slaughter said.
Study Area A is estimated to generate about $89,000 in ad valorem revenue, from real and personal property, for the city and $120,000 – $135,000 in sales tax revenue. Area B is estimated to generate about $315,000 in ad valorem tax revenue and $28,000 – $31,000 in sales taxes.
Slaughter said the city would need to add five new police officers, with five new cars and weapons, equipment and uniforms for both study areas. It would also need to add one street department laborer and 76 street lights, which could be added at 38 per year.
The sanitation department would need to add one driver, one laborer, one rear-end loader, one knuckle boom and additional trash bags for the combined area.
The fire department, general government and community development departments would not need to add any new personnel or equipment. Slaughter said the city would need to redistrict, which is likely to follow the 2020 census anyway, and would need to update its comprehensive plan to account for the new area and apply zoning to any annexed territory.
The proposed annexation area is expected to generate more revenue for the city than is needed in annexation costs, with estimated net revenue of $1.2 million after five years.
‘Gateway corridor area’
In all, Slaughter said the new area is much more conservative than the city’s initial project.
“I think both of these areas are reasonable for the city of Starkville, and I would recommend the city seriously consider both of these,” Slaughter said.
Mayor Lynn Spruill, who has supported annexation since the study process began, said she thinks it is important for the city to bring in the area to its east, both to capture the economic growth in the area and to prevent a community from incorporating and preventing that spread.
Ward 3 Alderman David Little said the area is an important eastern entryway into Starkville that the city needs to capture.
“It’s a gateway corridor area,” Little said. “That interchange needs to be lit up. That’s the first entrance you see as you’re coming in — it’s dark when you’re coming in from the east there. Most people think that is Starkville when you turn off there.”
Aldermen will also look to modify the city’s ordinances to potentially allow for hunting on certain pieces of property. The issue arose during Friday’s discussion when Ward 5 Alderman Patrick Miller said a constituent approached him with concerns about land near the Highway 12-Highway 82 interchange that’s currently used for hunting being included in the annexation.
City ordinances currently forbid the discharge of weapons within city limits. However, as aldermen discussed whether they should look to remove that piece of land from the annexation, Slaughter said other cities have designed ordinances to allow for hunting on large enough pieces of land.
“I’ve had cities, such as the city of Batesville and I believe Brookhaven, have ordinances that in general, without mentioning specific properties, put specifics on it for if you have a certain size — so many acres — of property that met certain requirements, you could utilize that for hunting or discharge of firearms,” Slaughter said.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.