In Starkville, Highway 12 is our most active commercial corridor. It either houses or leads to most of the well known franchise brands of the businesses in town, from Walmart to Walgreen to McDonald’s. It is their main street and it needs attention and commitment to keep it viable.
A year or so ago the Partnership (equivalent of the chamber) initiated a series of meetings to work with the property owners along Highway 12 to address their discontent about not being a focus of any local economic development efforts. The window of their perspective had a large view of all of the downtown activities and events but nothing that showcased their businesses.
This task force identified their basic concerns for the stretch between Highway 25 and the University. It all boiled down to beautification including sidewalks, landscaping, lighting and burial of utilities. Expensive changes, but not impossible.
To her credit, Jennifer Gregory, president of the Partnership, has been aggressive in reaching out the membership to meet their expectations. This is one example of the proactive approach she initiated. She didn’t just stop at identifying problems; she researched a way to address them.
Enter the BID (Business Improvement District).
The Mississippi Code allows identified areas of a municipality to take control of their destiny. It is a special assessment district for only those located in the district. This isn’t unprecedented. Our Main Street Association is also a special taxing district though not called a BID, the effect is the same.
For this tale of economic redevelopment, it is important to note that this stretch of state highway is, according to the Mississippi Department of Transportation, one of the most dangerous in Mississippi. MDOT has announced it will be making safety driven improvements to that stretch of roadway with or without our participation or approval.
Those safety improvements are most probably going to be changes that will create heartburn for the business owners and those of us who patronize them. Let’s be clear: The MDOT project has absolutely nothing to do with the BID proposal. But it can be the catalyst for significant positive impact beyond safety.
What these property owners do with this opportunity will help define our community and determine whether Highway 12 lives beyond the commercial cycle of boom and bust.
Mike Tagert has given us a “lemonade from lemons” story of potential serendipity. This is another occasion when having an MDOT commissioner who truly cares about Starkville vastly improves our possible options to coordinate the safety program with the beautification effort.
Once again for Starkville, opportunity knocks. We must recognize and act on its full potential. Do the property owners on 12 have vision that extends beyond the here and now?
Usually a safety program means closing exit points and installing medians as they did on Louisville Street recently. There is no question medians can be a pain for those of us who are used to making a left turn out of almost everywhere on Highway 12. I know I am regularly spinning tires and using the middle lane to get out of the bank and head back to Industrial Road and my office.
My left turn will be probably unavailable when they install medians up and down Highway 12. The only question will be whether those medians will be filled with concrete or whether they will have some landscaping in them. That is a question to be answered by the property owners. That answer will determine tomorrow’s Highway 12.
Will it suffer the same fate as182 as progress passes it by and relocates, or will it be a place where business will continue to invest and reinvest?
And what is the cost of this investment to the owners? That depends on how much of Highway 12 they own. Under the proposal the annual cost for someone who owns an acre is about $900. That translates to $75 per month. Doesn’t strike me as a deal breaker for a viable business with a prime property location.
I had a conversation with someone who was adamant about not being willing to participate. He said the city should be paying for those improvements. Maybe it should and maybe it shouldn’t but the reality is it isn’t going to happen.
So do you invest in your future or do you just let it happen to you and complain about it later?
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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