The Starkville Board of Aldermen held its annual planning retreat this weekend and set several new goals for the coming year.
Among the board”s priorities is the the rehabilitation of the Highway 182 corridor, which often is considered an eyesore due to the cracked and crumbling asphalt, lack of sidewalks and hodgepodge of businesses.
“I think everybody would agree that (the improvement of Highway 182) is something that needs to be moving forward more than it is,” Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman said.
“It”s a mess,” Ward 4 Alderman Richard Corey agreed.
Along much of the highway, it is unclear where the road ends and parking lots begin. Ward 5 Alderman Jeremiah Dumas said the establishment of curbs, gutters and sidewalks would define the road, and then it could be repaved.
The problem for the city, however, is Highway 182 is a state road and the Mississippi Department of Transportation is responsible for repaving and upkeep. MDOT plans to repave Highway 182 in 2012, Wiseman said.
With the poor condition of the road — a concrete foundation was laid in slabs and the asphalt atop the slabs has cracked at each joint — Corey said the road would need to be rebuilt “from the ground up.” To do the project right, aldermen could look at contributing city funds to MDOT, Corey said. The city also could ask the county and Mississippi State University to contribute, since Highway 182 is a heavily traveled road for county residents entering the city and for people attending MSU for classes and events, he added.
“Something needs to be done,” Corey said.
The board also wants to establish and prioritize a list of long-range drainage projects, and explore funding possibilities. Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn Sr., an advocate for drainage improvements since he took office in 2009, wants the city to continue to cover a ditch along Carver Drive, which nearby residents have complained about for 20 years. Vaughn also wants to improve drainage problems in other areas of the city, including Northside Drive.
Another goal is to establish a litter control program. Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver brought the issue to the board”s attention, saying he has noticed more litter along the sides of city roads in the 18 months since he took office than ever before.
Among city service improvements, aldermen want the new Information Technology Department to upgrade the city”s website and make it more user-friendly for residents. While Starkville Electric Department customers already can pay bills online, aldermen want to put other services, like the completion of building permits, on the city website. Ward 2 Alderwoman Sandra Sistrunk wants to make the system more interactive and use social media to communicate with citizens.
Starkville was the first city in Mississippi to establish a 311 non-emergency hotline number, but the number doesn”t work for customers of some cellular phone providers, such as Cellular South. The board wants to investigate how to make the 311 service available to all residents.
Aldermen in 2005 enacted a comprehensive plan, but existing ordinances and language in the comprehensive plan conflict at times and overlap at others. The board hopes to enact ordinances, regulations and modifications of the existing plan to make the document more consistent and enforceable.
The board also wants the Starkville Police Department to enforce existing ordinances and regulations, such as parking.
But the board also addressed recent concerns about the city”s Christmas parade. No lights were set up downtown for the 2010 edition of the parade, which resulted in several complaints from citizens.
One of the goals of the board for the coming year is for Starkville to “become known for its Christmas celebration,” and serve as a destination for visitors.
The board”s updated strategic plan will be put on its Feb. 1 meeting agenda for consideration. Wiseman was pleased with the progress that was made throughout the two-day retreat, which took place at the Greater Starkville Development Partnership.
“I think this has been excellent,” Wiseman said. “I think this puts us on an excellent course. I didn”t think any issues were dodged in the discussion. That is important and I think everybody was able to work through everything very constructively, which is very good and will pay dividends in the long haul.”
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