Starkville residents who live in portions of the city annexed from Oktibbeha County in 1998 soon could receive improved fire and sewer services.
When the Starkville Board of Aldermen approved the city”s 2010-2011 budget Wednesday night, a portion of it included $635,000 to extend water lines and install fire hydrants throughout annexed areas on the northeast side of town.
Phase one of the project will bring fire lines and hydrants to Geechie Road, northern portions of Rockhill Road, Treasure Lane and a portion of Butler Road. It is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.
Phase two of the project, scheduled for completion by the end of March 2011, includes the installation of fire lines and hydrants on Jessie/Fannie Dell roads, Pecan Lane, southern portions of Rockhill Road and the Pat Station Road extension.
The third phase of the project, scheduled for completion by June 30, 2011, will bring fire lines to Collier Road, the remainder of Butler Road and Stowood Road.
Starkville Public Services Department Director Doug Devlin said the lines are necessary to improve fire protection for citizens in the annexed areas.
“We feel like life safety is of primary importance,” Devlin said.
The Starkville Fire Department typically transports water to fires where hydrants are not available, Chief Rodger Mann said. The county”s volunteer fire departments also provide a tanker trunk when necessary.
There are some fire hydrants in the annexed areas, but those are “very sparsely located,” Mann said. The fire department can fill up tanker trucks from those hydrants, but the hydrants are so small firefighters can”t pull directly from them or the lines and the systems would collapse, Mann said.
“We”ll be glad to get these (new) hydrants in and up and flowing,” Mann said. “As it stands right now, with the aid of an extra pumper and the volunteer fire departments” pumper bringing water, we can still adequately fight any type of fire in the annexed areas, but this will definitely help.”
Sewers
The city also plans to use $1,098,000 in cash reserves for sewer service expansion. Devlin provided an option to use those funds to install sewer lines on the east side of Old Highway 25 near Deerfield Apartments; on Babylon Road and West Reed Road; and in the Butler/Stowood Road area. Fifty homes in those three areas would be required to tap into the sewer lines, if constructed, according to the city”s sewer ordinance.
But the sewer plans haven”t been finalized.
Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver, Ward 2 Alderwoman Sandra Sistrunk and Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn Sr. expressed concerns over what areas were tentatively scheduled for new sewer service. Carver is working on a list of other parts of the city where more homes could connect to city sewer lines for the same cost as the lines proposed by Devlin.
Devlin stressed the areas he suggested were just “placeholders” in the budget and the Board of Aldermen ultimately will decide where the money is spent and which areas are served.
“The sewer projects are going to be taken on a project-by-project basis and the board will have to approve each one as long as we stay within the budget,” he said.
Other areas being considered for sewer service are Bluefield Road and Greta Lane on the west side of town, where 33 homes would be served; Pinecrest Road, Arbor Drive and Highway 12 West, where 10 homes would be served; Lewis Lane and Reed Road east of Highway 25, where seven homes would be served; the Pecan Drive area, where seven homes would be served; Sand Road, where six homes would be served; Sudduth Road and Highway 389 North, where five homes would be served; Highway 182 and the Starkville Electric Department substation area, where three homes would be served; Highway 182 just east of Stark Road, where two homes would be served; and the east end of Country Club Road, where two homes would be served.
The total cost of the proposed sewer project is estimated at $3,803,000, including the three areas suggested Wednesday by Devlin. He said the city should look at federal and state grants and loans to help with construction, and to help residents pay to connect to the new lines once built.
The city charges $200 to tap into its sewer lines and property owners would have to pay the additional costs to run pipes from the city”s lines to their homes. If the sewer line comes within 100 feet of a property line, property owners would be required to connect, according to the city”s sewer ordinance.
“A lot of the people in these areas are of low- to moderate income and this could present a serious financial hardship for them,” Devlin warned.
The Board of Aldermen will meet again Sept. 21 at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall.
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