In a bid to temporarily relocate the Starkville Police Department before renovating department headquarters begins, Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn will seek board approval to temporarily move SPD operations to City Hall.
Wynn will submit the resolution at the upcoming June 7 board meeting. The move looks to secure all documents and equipment, while providing department staff with a viable workspace.
The vacant, second-floor space at City Hall could give SPD around 2,600 square feet of usable office space. After the building was completed in November of last year, the space was left unfinished for prospective future private retail tenants.
In order for the space to fit SPD's temporary needs, city officials must approve adding privacy walls, electrical improvements, lighting updates and computer wiring to the space. Cost estimates to ready the space range from $35,000 to $40,000, according to City Building Official Joyner Williams. Funds for the project could be secured through the mayor's miscellaneous fund, information and technology fund and from leftover funds from the City Hall move, City Clerk Lesa Hardin said in an email to Wynn.
The resolution would allow SPD to occupy the space for a period of 10 months. SPD renovations to department headquarters could start "mid-to-late-July," Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman said. The project could be complete by April 2017, with construction documents being prepared at the end of the month. Requests for contractor proposals could come in June, and a notice to proceed on the project could be issued in early July, a presentation by project architect Gary Shafer showed.
The project moved forward May 3 after aldermen voted 5 to 2 in favor of a 1-mill tax increase to secure the needed $2.4 million in the project's $5.4 million budget. In April, aldermen sought state funds, but the request was denied by legislators. The millage increase will take effect after city officials decide on the new rate at the start of the next fiscal year in September.
Officials previously investigated temporarily relocating SPD staff to SFD Station 5, the activities room at the Starkville Sportsplex and the SPD firing range near the George M. Bryan Airport. SPD had tentatively decided to relocate to SFD Fire Station 5, but the location did not have secure fiber internet cabling, and would cost $18,000 to install, an email from Wynn said.
SPD Chief Frank Nichols and high-ranking staff then agreed the vacant municipal space would meet all department needs during the estimated 10-month construction process, according to the May 17 agenda.
Approving the space for SPD is the best option since relocating department staff to a private facility would be "cost factors to our city's budget that should not be incurred for temporary space considering their is available space," Wynn said.
Renovations to the current headquarters will include a renovated second floor, youth court services, all code updates along with a slew of exterior work including paving and striping with protected parking and a new sally port. The roof would be resurfaced and waterproofed under the current plan. ADA access would be moved to the front of the facility.
SPD's current facility—at 101 E. Lampkin St.—was vacated by all city employees in November after a new City Hall was built and allowed SPD to take over the entire facility. Formerly a Mississippi National Guard outpost, the structure was granted historic status and given to the city in the 1960s. Drainage, sewage and other infrastructure problems plague the current location.
Aldermen will meet next at 5:30 p.m., June 7 at City Hall, 110 W. Main St.