Eleven months of renovations will solve an issue that has plagued Starkville for 20 years.
Aldermen voted Tuesday to issue $2.4 million in general obligation bonds that will fund a complete upgrade plan for Starkville Police Department’s base of operations at the former city hall.
The motion also institutes a 1-mill tax increase to fund debt service, which will roll off the books once the project is complete.
Renovations to the historic building are expected to begin this summer and conclude in April 2017. The upgrades should provide SPD not only with a first-class facility for its current needs, but also as the department grows in the future, said SPD Chief Frank Nichols.
“It has been a long time coming,” he said. “Twenty years and six to eight (proposed) locations later, we’ve gotten our emotions up just to be let down. I’m very thankful for this mayor and this board for granting us a home we can be proud of.”
The motion was brought forward by Ward 6 Alderman Roy A. Perkins, whose opposition to millage increases during his six terms as alderman has been steadfast and often yielded impassioned pleas against tax-and-spend policies.
Perkins, who also serves as mayor pro tempore, spent almost 20 minutes Tuesday compelling his peers to bring the decades-long issue of solving the police department issue to a conclusion.
“This is not for political show. I’m not looking for any recognition from this. I’m talking from the heart,” he said. “The city of Starkville needs this. The facts clearly justify that these officers need a renovated building. Partial (renovations aren’t) going to do it.”
How to fund a full renovation for SPD became an issue after state lawmakers failed to provide an allocation that would have bridged the gap between partial upgrades and the proposed master plan.
Aldermen previously approved $3 million for upgrades, but rising cost estimates meant some improvements — a new roof, for example — would have to wait until the city found a way to provide additional monies.
Because of the amount of money the city would need to invest in revitalizing the old facility, Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver said he would be in favor of exploring new construction options. Those options, architect Gary Shafer said Tuesday, could push the final price beyond $8 million.
Carver and Ward 3 Alderman David Little both opposed the tax increase. Both aldermen and their fellow board members acknowledged Starkville faces numerous upcoming funding requests, including asks for economic development, park improvements and infrastructure upgrades.
The board, Carver and Little said, should look at the totality of requests and how they will affect the city’s financial picture.
Proponents of the tax increase said owners of a $200,000 home would only experience an annual increase of about $20 to their tax bill. Little took issue with that prediction, saying business and rental property owners would shoulder a heavier burden because of higher taxing rates and the inability to file for homestead exemption on their properties.
“We’re at a critical crossroad, and we have a lot of decisions to make in the next week that will impact every resident in this city,” Little said. “There’s never enough money to do all that we’d like to do. I found that out early in this term.”
Carver recommended the city continue studying new locations or at least consider a redesign of the former city hall that would be more conducive to police operations.
“I think we’re trying to put a Band-Aid on an old wound,” Carver said. “I find it interesting that my colleagues on the other end of the table, who voted against a $1.3 million earmark for a police station, now favor something more than that. When did it become the norm to bypass public opinion to pass a tax increase? We saw it time and time again with this city hall. You’re choosing the lesser of two evils. I don’t like the location, and I don’t like how it services our police department. Do we have to get in a hurry and pass this tonight? Of course not.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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