Starkville aldermen will choose a site for the planned county industrial park at the upcoming May 17 board meeting following a presentation by development officials.
Three options were laid out for city and county leaders in a March presentation by GTR LINK officials.
A near-400 acre site north of the Highway 25 and Highway 82 bypass, dubbed the Stanley, Strange, Waldrop properties; and a 120-acre, 16 Section property near the George M. Bryan Airport are the leading industrial options heading into the mid-May meeting.
"I am fully prepared to support either option that our board may choose," said Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman. "I think the most important thing is that our board chooses an option. The worst thing to come from all of this would be no viable path forward. This is of critical importance to our city and county."
The choice on May 17 could pave the way to finalize a site selection, or restart discussions between city, county and development officials.
Option one
The Stanley, Strange, Waldrop properties would cost around $30 million to acquire and add all needed improvements to the site, according to development officials.
County supervisors selected the site on May 2 in a 4-0 vote and tentatively committed to contributing $7 million to the project. If aldermen select the site, it would make the process "pretty easy" going forward, Wiseman said.
If selected by the city, aldermen would match the $7 million contribution.
Around $10 million from the total cost would be needed to extend an Atmos Energy natural gas line to the site and remove any Native American cultural artifacts.
"Cost is definitely a factor," Wiseman said.
Development officials previously said 4-County Electric would commit to building a $4 million, 60-megawatt substation at the location.
The scope of Native American artifacts at the site remains unclear, an issue that could cause costs to ballon. But the site offered greater connectivity due to the proximity of the site and access to the highway at an interchange point, Wiseman said.
If aldermen shy away from the option—by selecting the 16 Section site—the issue would go back to the county for further consideration.
Option two
The 120-acre 16 Section property just south of the airport could turn out to be a $6 million investment if purchased from the school district. The majority of costs would go towards acquiring the needed surrounding properties and building an access road to grant trucks entrance to the site from Highway 25.
The site recently ran into a problem over the proximity to the airport's planned runway expansion to the planned road, Wiseman said.
"We have heard from the FAA," Wiseman said. "They has informed us that there is a problem with the access road and the current configuration. That's an issue the FAA and the LINK would have to work through further if [16 Section] is selected."
The city and FAA previously approved the runway extension project, and an access road could violate the FAA's runway protection zone. If aldermen select the 16 Section property, discussions would be held between LINK and FAA officials to determine a solution.
"LINK officials have mentioned the possibility of hiring an outside consultant to work on the matter in the future, but that's something they would wait to go forward with," Wiseman said.
The site south of the airport's price tag is far less than the larger site, it has a low probability of cultural artifacts being unearthed, and provides improved infrastructure for existing industry in the area, Wiseman noted.
An investigation would need to be done to determine how much of the site is considered wetland. Although they can be mitigated, the wetlands reclamation process is "a very costly process," he said.
"We must ensure that we protect both the interests of industrial development and the interest of the airport," he said.
Option three
The 160-acre site just east of Highway 25, dubbed Cornerstone, would cost only $225,000 to prepare for an industrial development, officials said.
The site is currently owned by the Oktibbeha County Development Authority. Officials would only need to approve tree and shrub clearing of parcels at Cornerstone.
Officials previously considered connecting the 16 Section and Cornerstone options. It is unclear how the access road issue at the former property could impact the hybrid park expansion.
"We should do the $250,000 worth of work at the Cornerstone Park to protect those interests," Wiseman said. "It's an investment the city and county made many years ago and we need to protect that investment."
Millage rate hike
Both the Stanley, Strange, Waldrop properties and the 16 Section site could result in a slight millage tax rate increase in the upcoming fiscal year, if selected by city leaders.
The largest site would need to raise the rate 2 to 3 mills, Wiseman said. The 16 Section site would only require a 1-mill tax increase.
Aldermen approved raising the rate by 1 mill at the May 3 meeting to secure the needed $2.4 million for the Starkville Police Department renovation project of SPD headquarters on Lampkin Street.
One tax mill secures just over $224,000 for the city. The current millage rate is set at 21.98.
After May 17
"When the city and county commit to a site and reach an agreement on how it's going to be funded, OCEDA and the LINK will have responsibility for executing the project," Wiseman said.
The Starkville Board of Aldermen will meet at 5:30 p.m., May 17 at City Hall, 110 W. Main St.