Mayor Parker Wiseman is looking forward to a productive annual retreat when he and the Board of Aldermen meet for a pair of work sessions this weekend.
The board will meet Friday and Saturday in the Greater Starkville Development Partnership board room. The sessions are open to the public.
From 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, the board will revisit the city’s strategic plan it adopted in 2010. Each year since, the board has worked through the document to determine where progress has and hasn’t been made and how the plan needs to be altered.
Since the current administration’s first year, the board has achieved its goals of establishing information technology and environmental sanitation departments. As part of a goal to reorganize the planning and building department, a building official and assistant city planner were hired.
“The objective was for the city to have adequate staff in place to meet the needs of both day-to-day building and development and long-range planning for the city,” Wiseman said.
In that vein, the city’s development of form-based codes and rezoning of corridors to Mississippi State University have helped outline future development, which was a goal laid out in the original draft of the strategic plan.
The board will look at previous goals, including the status of the city’s website. Wiseman said the information technology department is making progress on contracting with a consultant to make cityofstarkville.org more interactive.
A major topic of discussion will be revisiting the need for a new municipal complex. In the board’s original strategic plan, it laid out the process that saw the establishment of a citizen committee and subsequent development of design and tax implications. The $8.45 million bond referendum to fund the complex failed in September.
“I expect them to establish an objective and figure out what the next step is,” Wiseman said. “It’s very important, in anything, that we learn from experiences. We’ve got to take all of the information and feedback and, hopefully, build a model for success this time.”
Also on tap this weekend — from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday — will be the development of a capital improvement plan. The board has worked with consultant Demery Grubbs for the past two months to narrow a list to around 36 projects that would include drainage and infrastructure.
Wiseman’s recent suggestion of a monthly stormwater utility fee — $2.50 for residential and $5 for commercial — could be part of the capital improvements discussion, Wiseman said. However, implementation of the fee will require correspondence with the Public Service Commission and is considered in the early stages of development.
Additionally, the board will discuss the remaining services that need to be extended to the areas of west Starkville that were annexed in 1998. Wiseman said there are a “few pockets” within the territory that are lacking sewer or fire hydrant service.
“We anticipate that by 2013, we will have extended services to all of the ’98 annexed areas,” Wiseman said.
Each of the city’s seven aldermen have the option of suggesting new plans or additions to the strategic plan.
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