While members of Starkville”s municipal complex committee toured City Hall last month and witnessed firsthand the cramped working conditions faced by city employees, the group now is planning an open house in the 71-year-old structure to give the public a chance to weigh in on the need for new facilities.
The city”s citizen-led municipal complex committee met Wednesday and debated when to bring the rest of Starkville”s citizenry into the discussion on how to improve conditions for city employees, including the Starkville Police Department, who work at a former armory on Lampkin Street.
Some members of the committee, including Dr. Bethany Stich, Robbie Coblentz and Nick Wilson, said it would be best to hold a public meeting early in the municipal complex planning process to get as much feedback as possible. Other members of the nine-person group, including Emil Lovely, Bill Webb and Eric Heiselt, felt the committee should prepare more concrete options before presenting any information to the public for feedback.
The group ultimately agreed to follow a suggestion made by Starkville Chief Administrative Officer Lynn Spruill, who said the public meeting should be held in City Hall so citizens can see the poor condition of the building. Stich then suggested an open house and the idea caught on with fellow committee members.
Spruill and Mayor Parker Wiseman said they plan to set up an open house in City Hall and draw up surveys for public input at the event. The city has not yet set a date for the open house, but plans to publicize it to receive as much feedback as possible.
“How can we be a representative citizen committee if we don”t get input from the citizens?” Coblentz said.
The committee also reached a consensus on a recommendation to the Starkville Board of Aldermen, who ultimately will approve or deny any decisions on the project, to pursue the renovation of the existing City Hall building at 101 Lampkin St. as part of an overall municipal building or complex plan. Starkville Municipal Court, the Starkville Police Department and City Hall are located in the former armory.
The SPD occupies 8,045 square feet in City Hall, plus another 5,544 square feet off-site, according to numbers provided by the city. A needs assessment provided by project architect Gary Shafer planned for growth over the next 15 years and shows the Starkville Police Department will require a total of 26,400 square feet in on-site and off-site space by 2025.
Starkville Municipal Court occupies 2,632 square feet in City Hall, but will require 9,700 square feet in 15 years, Shafer said. Space in Municipal Court and the Starkville Police Department is cramped, with file cabinets in hallways, employees sharing offices and a lack of meeting space, among other shortfalls.
Space in City Hall occupied by the mayor”s office, Public Works Department, Engineering Department, city clerk”s office and Building and Planning Department totals 6,420 square feet. In 15 years, City Hall will require 20,500 square feet of space for those offices, Shafer said.
To build a new 26,400-square-foot police station would cost approximately $4.75 million at $180 per square foot, Shafer said. To build a new 9,700-square-foot municipal court building would cost approximately $1.94 million at $200 per square foot. To construct a new 20,500-square-foot City Hall would cost approximately $3.38 million at $200 per square foot, he estimated.
Committee members were in favor of renovating the existing City Hall building, saying the city would save money by gutting and fixing up the structure, and constructing a new facility for police and/or courts. The group also discussed the possibility of renovating the former Starkville Electric Department building on Meigs Avenue and purchasing property to build a new municipal building or buildings.
Shafer plans to present to the group at its next meeting, scheduled for Nov. 16 at 3 p.m., information about sites considered during each of the three previous attempts to build a municipal complex.
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