STARKVILLE — The Starkville Board of Aldermen tonight will hold its first work session to discuss its capital improvement program.
The board will meet with financial consultant Demery Grubbs, of the Jackson-based firm Government Consultants Inc., whom the city contracted earlier this year to help craft its five-year master list and provide financial guidance.
City officials met with Grubbs in June, after which they compiled individual capital improvement lists, which include equipment and infrastructure needs and street projects in all wards.
Citizens are encouraged to attend the work session, which begins at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.
“There may be some (improvements) that take three to five years,” Wiseman said in October, “and there’ll be some that take 10 to 20 years to fund. This process will really benefit us because you’re looking at everything at once. There’s a tendency, if you don’t, to wait until a crisis develops or a big, expensive piece of equipment has broken down and become unusable.
“Ideally, you want to be proactive.”
Drainage issues at Carver and Maple Drive were a hot topic at the board meeting on Nov. 15. Both projects, which will each cost more than $100,000 to fund, were added to a drainage project master list that totals more than $1 million. Some of those projects will be included in tonight’s discussion.
Grubbs, who has also worked with Natchez and Alcorn County on similar plans, isn’t contracted to survey Starkville’s facilities or roads and provide his own suggestions; Grubbs will help set the capital improvements plan, analyze the city’s current budget and provide funding strategies.
Ward 6 Alderman Roy A. Perkins has been critical of the board’s inability to find funding for capital improvements — specifically Carver Drive, in his ward. Perkins said hiring a consultant to assist the city is a “waste of time.”
“Our time is so valuable,” Perkins said. “I hope there’ll be something beneficial to this board (to come out of the work session). We just have a lot of talk about capital improvements during the board meeting. It’s just a matter of trying to implement this. Have more than just an assembly. More than just a gathering to say we’re here.”
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