A pending 16th section lease between former Mississippi State University men’s basketball coach Rick Stansbury and the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District could bring about new housing developments at Oktibbeha County Lake.
The SOCSD Board of Trustees unanimously approved a developmental lease Tuesday that will allow for “the construction and operation of a residential complex” and allow Stansbury to lease properties for residential and commercial uses through at least 2027 in return for a $31,290 annual payment to the district.
Provisions in the deal task the school board with final approval of site plans, designate Stansbury with maintenance responsibilities and give the current Western Kentucky University coach one year to begin developing the property.
The new agreement still requires approval from the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors and the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office, school board attorney John Hill said.
Roughly 400 acres of combined 16th section land and county properties comprising Oktibbeha County Lake and Stansbury’s water park venture, Starkville Wet N Wild, were already under Stansbury’s control through leases, including a recreational lease with the school district.
As approved, the new lease also states Stansbury anticipates continuing to operate the previously agreed upon recreational activities found in the previous lease.
SOCSD Superintendent Lewis Holloway said Stansbury “plans to keep the water park.” The new deal would allow him to sublease concrete pads associated with the property’s KOA Campground and build homes on undeveloped land near the lake.
Those developments, Holloway said, will generate more property tax collections for the school district.
Stansbury declined to comment Wednesday on his plans for the property, saying he would discuss the matter in detail once the contract is finalized. It is not known when the two groups will broach the document.
County’s interest
Stansbury previously approached the county last year with a $2 million interest-gauging offer for the water park, campgrounds and previously constructed cabins about the same time workers were forced to lower the lake’s water level ahead of repairs addressing slope failures and other structural issues.
Starkville Wet N Wild was forced to indefinitely close because of the lowered water level.
The county broached the idea of taking over the lake leases and the property in an attempt to turn Oktibbeha County Lake into a public park, but District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer in February said a deal was unlikely until additional issues with the lake’s structural integrity were addressed.
Stansbury also sought a rebate for the almost $32,000 he was paying for the 16th section lease, as the original deal contained a formula lowering the lease requirements for each day beyond a month the water level falls below eight feet from the top of a drain.
In February, Mike Ainsworth, Oktibbeha County’s 16th section land manager, calculated a $21,816.95 fair market value for the SOCSD property, using 221 days below the 8-foot mark.
Trainer, who was not aware of the new lease agreement when contacted Wednesday, said supervisors should continue discussions on a possible future takeover of the property. The board president also said he has not spoken to Stansbury about the property in some time.
“That’s good for Stansbury and good for the school district. I’m glad to see the property will be utilized in a beneficial way like that,” Trainer said. “I was hoping Stansbury would say, ‘This thing is a hole, and I’m losing on it,’ and want to throw his hands up and come to the table with (a better offer), but maybe the situation has taken care of itself. Some out there think we shouldn’t get involved, but my idea is different because of all the public resources thrown into the lake. I think we ought to entertain the idea (for a takeover), come up with some kind of figure we’re comfortable with, seek a proposal and go from there. Up until then, Stansbury has to do what he needs to do.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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