Board of Aldermen - Regular Meeting

I would like to welcome everyone to our recess meeting of May the 19th. We will start first. I'll call this meeting to order. We will stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by invocation from all of the system, and then a moment of silence.

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, grant the board and mayor wisdom and grace in the exercise of our duties. Bless the leaders of our community that we may be a people at peace with ourselves and a blessing to others. Teach our people to rely on your strength and to accept their responsibilities to their fellow citizens. Amen.

with the official agenda looking at consented items and I do wish to add one item under executive session for all which is property acquisition so we have personnel I wonder executive session right now and I would like to add property acquisition And with that, Alderman Moreland, do you have a change to the agenda?

Yes, ma'am. I would like to take under community develop B1, all consent, please.

Okay. So B1 is removed from consent agenda. All right.

Which one, ma'am?

I'm sorry, B1. I'm sorry, B1. I'm saying B1, the plan, the final plan. Okay. So that was removed from consent. Anything else? No, ma'am. All right. Alderman Sistroth? No, ma'am. Thank you. Alderman Strickland?

No, ma'am. Thank you.

Skinner. Skinner. I am so sorry. I don't know why I do that. Do you have a brother or something? then I need an approval or a motion to approve the official agenda with the consented items as modified and the addition to the executive session.

Move approval.

I have a motion from Alderman Polk. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Alderman Sistrunk. All right, if you would please answer yay or nay as the city clerk calls your name.

Alderman Moreland?

Yay.

Alderman Sistrunk? Yay. Alderman Skinner? Yay. Alderman Brooks? Yay. Alderman Polkup. Yay. Vice Mayor Perkins. Yay. Alderman Vaughn.

Yay. All right. It is unanimous. Thank you so much. And I will read the consented agenda items. First, we have consideration of the minutes of the May 1, 2026 work session of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the City of Starkville. We have consideration of the minutes of the May 5, 2026 regular meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the City of Starkville. Under Mayor's Business, we have consideration of a resolution authorizing the lien for 117 Clements Avenue as provided in the attachments. Consideration of a resolution authorizing the lien for 307 West Main Street as provided in the attachments. C is consideration of a resolution authorizing the lien for Parcel Number 118K-00-037.00 on Reed Road as provided in the attachments. Under Board Business, we have consideration of appointing Chris Williams to the Golden Triangle Regional Landfill Authority as the replacement for Cody Burnett. b is consideration of rescinding the board order of may 5th 2026 authorizing the opt-out program for the power of change for startle utilities c is consideration of a resolution appointing alderman henry vaughn as the 2026 voting delegate and william pokup as the alternate voting delegate for the city of startle to the 2026 mississippi municipal league summer conference in biloxi mississippi Under community development, we have number two, discussion and consideration of the final plat, FP26-05, a request for final plat approval for Barter Road at 300 University Drive in a T-5D zoning district. Under engineering, we have consideration of approving amendment number two to the 2026 street improvement list. Number two is consideration of approving the access and maintenance easement agreement with Mississippi State University for the acquisition of a permanent and perpetual easement to construction and maintain a multi-use path for the MS-12 and Garrard Road roundabout project. Three is consideration of approving the memorandum of agreement with Starville Main Street Association for the Mississippi Main Street revitalization grant. Under finance administration, we have request acceptance of the April 2026 financial statements of the City of Starkville. Number three is request acknowledgement of privilege licenses issued by the City Clerk's Office for the month of April 2026 by the Board in accordance with Mississippi Code 27-17-501. Four is consideration of renewing property, vehicle, and equipment insurance services with Travelers Insurance Company for one year ending May 31st, 2027. Under human resources, number one, we have request authorization to hire Garrett Lee as a non-certified firefighter in the Starkville Fire Department. Two is request authorization to place John West Cantrell, Jaleel Clemons, and Meredith Gregg and Hayes McMullen on a list of potential non-certified and or certified firefighter hires for 90 days. Three is request authorization to hire Lucas Everett as a meter technician in the Starkville Utilities Department. Four is request authorization to hire Barrett Box as a water treatment operator in the Starkville Utilities Department. Five is request authorization to hire Andrew Drew Wigington as a police officer, one, in the Starkville Police Department. Under code enforcement, we have number 1, which is under Mississippi Code Annotated 21-19-11 Sub 2, and as adopted by the City of Starkville Board of Aldermen, the following properties are found in violation of said ordinance and are in such a state of uncleanliness as to be a menace to public health, safety, and welfare of the community and are therefore placed on the property mowing cleanup list. 49 Choctaw Road. 111 LeFleur, 112 LeFleur, and 113 LeFleur. Under Utilities Department, first we have a request authorization to accept the low quote from Hydra Service, Inc. in the amount of $74,789 for an 8-inch Godwin pump at an influent pump station at the wastewater treatment plant. Two is request authorization to approve change order number one with ChemPro for additional herbicide spraying for additional areas including wastewater treatment plant, trim cane lagoon, electric substations, ops center, electric division pad mount transformers, and electric division row ROP. right-of-way RODW treatment in the amount of $30,135. Three is consideration of accepting the low bid for the Curry Street generator, material only, from Taylor Power Systems in the amount of $99,054.17. Four is request authorization to execute the contract extension with S&S Lion Service to extend the agreement for one year at the same contract amount. Five is consideration of approval of change order number two for a price increase of $5,370.00 for the Influent Lift Station Rehabilitation Project. Six is request authorization to accept the low quote from Bill Young in the amount of $28,850 for installation of a new 10-inch check valve at Academy Well. And number seven is request authorization to accept the low quote from Bill Young in the amount of $42,525 for replacement of two 6-inch control valves at the Academy Well. And that concludes the consent agenda items.

Thank you, ma'am.

I'm always glad to do that. Thank you. So next we move to announcements and comments and under Mayor's comments I'm going to start with a couple of things and then we're going to end with a special thing. So first I have, and it's always a pleasure to do this as well, I have introductions. So Police Department First Chief, does that work for you? Okay, first we have Mr. Ruiz, Ivan Ruiz. Ivan Ruiz comes to the city of Starkville as a police officer. He states he wants to help and protect the community. He is bilingual, as he fluently speaks English and Spanish. And we are so deficient that we don't speak more than one language, I must say. And I speak for myself, nobody else up here, but I admire that for you. Originally from Olive Branch, Ivan is a graduate of Center Hill High School. His hobbies include playing soccer, exercising, and cooking. Next, we have Haley Powers. Haley started her employment with the City of Starkville as a part-time dispatcher and is now a police officer. Congratulations on that. That's wonderful. Haley states that she wants to get to know people in the community and give back to the community. Originally from Madison, Mississippi, Haley earned two bachelor's degrees from Mississippi State University in criminology and psychology and is currently pursuing her master's degree in forensic psychology from Arizona State University. She has a dog named Andy and two cats named Gizmo and Phoebe. She enjoys reading and singing in her church choir. Welcome. Glad to have you. And Michael Hunter. Delighted to have Mr. Hunter. He comes to the city of Starville as a crime scene investigation assistant and evidence specialist. He has an extensive background in law enforcement and obtained professional certifications from the Mississippi Board of Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training and the FBI's in crime scene management investigations. That sounds so technical. I'm going to go ahead and read this because they give these things to me and I sort of read, but in this case, this is really, I think, very interesting. As a crime scene investigation assistant and evidence specialist, He will perform specialized work functions associated with receiving, processing, and storing confiscated property and evidence, record transactions in an efficient inventory control system, and maintain the integrity of the custody chain and more. And I always think of law and order, so that's great. Originally from Macon, Mississippi, Michael earns his bachelor's degree from Liberty University in General Studies and his master's degree from Mississippi State University in Public Policy and Administration. 33 years of military service in the Army and a son named Jackson. Thank you for your service and welcome to Starkville. We're delighted to have you.

And now the Street Department.

All right, Mr. Burnett. Ryan Miner. All right. Mr. Minor comes to the city of Starkville as a street maintenance worker. He has an extensive background in operating various machinery, performing demolition projects, construction, and concrete pouring. We need that concrete pouring part. Excellent. Ryan states he wants to meet great people and serve the city of Starkville. Originally from Starkville, Mississippi, Ryan is a graduate of Starkville High School. He has three children, Aiden, King, and Zion. And in his spare time, he enjoys fishing and do-it-yourself projects. And we are delighted to have you. does conclude our introductions so next I need to remind everyone that we will be having the Memorial Day before our next meeting so the reminder is basically that we will not be doing pickup on Monday but we will be doing citywide pickup on the following Tuesday so just remember don't put the trash out and everybody will get it on that next day schedule which will be the 26 Tuesday the 26th and let's see what else all right Mr. Burnett, come forward, because it's going to take a few minutes or so. So I was telling the Greater Starkville Development Partnership Board this morning that we were losing a valued member of our community and of our city. Cody has been with us since December 16th of 2013, and it seems like... no time at all. And we have watched you grow and blossom and become a remarkable department head and do wonderful things in the engineering department and with the street department. And I think some of those wonderful things were shown and gone in depth with at the work session on Friday and all the things that you've achieved that have benefited Starkville and made us a better place to be. So we will miss you and wish you the very best because I know that you are going to be at MDOT and we will be calling on you. for help from MDOT. I expect you to pick up the phone when we call. Keep your same private number, please. But we do congratulate you and thank you so much for all that you have done for Starkville. And so with that, I'm guessing that there may be a few people on the board who might like to say a few things. The Vice Mayor, I know, is never without the opportunity to say nice things about people. So, Olin Morong?

Cody, I'm going to leave that for another day, so I don't tear up sitting at this table. But you are very much, I'm proud for you. I really am, and I don't know how to put in words how excited I am for what your future holds.

Alderman Cicero? I remember when you came to the city and To watch how you have evolved as an engineer and as a department head has been nothing short of the sort of thing that we always hope for when we hire an employee. So you have educated us. You've educated yourself. You've been a great service to the community, and we are going to miss you. It's not too late to change your mind.

Unfortunately, policy-wise, it is. Alvin Skinner.

You know, in the limited time I've gotten to be around you and work with you, it's been great. And I appreciate all the help that you've given me and wish you the best of luck. Thank you.

Alvin Brooks.

Thank you.

I've not gotten to spend much time with you in this realm. You've always answered my calls, but as a fellow drummer and a fellow disc golfer, I do hate that I won't have a chance to improve my record against you before you leave, but it'll happen eventually. Vice Mayor? Vice Mayor?

Thank you, Mayor. Mr. Burnett, I'd just like to take this special moment and this special privilege to thank you for all of your distinguished service that you have provided and rendered to the city of Starkville. I remember when the board was preparing to fill the position that you're now in, and being familiar with your qualifications, your background, your wisdom, your knowledge, and experience. I was a very strong advocate for you. And you have continuously performed extremely well. And I was never disappointed in any of your work, and you've shown great leadership with your department. And I have personal knowledge of that, primarily because you provide – Key services that my ward generally needs, desires and appreciates and looks forward to. You have accepted my calls whenever I've called you. And as you well know, you and I talk before regular hours, after regular hours on weekends. You've always shown support. uh, to the vice mayor, the highest level of professionalism. And I know that, um, that's going to continue to follow you for, um, the duration of your, um, your life. And I just want to say, thank you for, um, all of the contribution that you made to our city and, um, And including Ward 6, you have brought a lot of visions to the city, and the city has adopted a lot of your goals, your missions, your objectives. And you've been very successful. And I always tell you, you're a very great young man. You have a great family, including the children. I've seen photos of them. And I often ask you about how they're doing. And I'm gonna have to tell my good friend, the commissioner from the central district, he and I work the department of corrections together and I will tell him to be sure to take care of course. I don't have to tell him that, but he's going to do that anyway. So good luck to you and I know you're going to perform all your tasks duties and responsibility above and beyond expectations because you. A very, very smart young man. And I appreciate the privilege and opportunity of having met you, and I look forward to our continuous professional working relationship. And thank you for your time here at our city. Thank you. Thank you.

Well, I'm going to miss all our rides going out on Friday in Mother Town. When you be ready to get out of the office, we ride and see a lot of things. But I just commend you so much for how you stayed behind the scenes with everyone. And a lot of things that you were performing, you know, they probably thought they were doing, but you stood behind the scene. You know, you don't always have to be out front to be seen. You did a lot of marvelous and great work behind the scene for us. And you just look at the streets and just look at the areas that, you know, I'm going to miss you from all of that, you know, really, really. And our relationship, we had a pretty good relationship. I say a good relationship, not pretty good because, You and I communicate every morning through texting. So I'm going to miss you. I'm going to really miss you and your family. But I still be looking for my Christmas card. Don't forget that now. But you have done great work for the city of Starview. And I know you're going to continue to do the same because it's in you. And I appreciate you. I appreciate your friendship. Thank you.

I would like to say a few words. First of all, thank you. I feel very humbled for the things you've said. And at a minimum, I feel I should share all those nice things. So thank you. One of the questions I get asked pretty frequently is people want to know what's it like to work for the city? What's it like working for the city? And I love to answer that question because it's an easy answer. What I tell people is that using the skills and the training, the expertise that you have to make your community a better place to live, to me, is the best thing you can do professionally. You all know this. This is why you do it. To get up on Saturday and take your family to the farmer's market and walk on the sidewalk that your team is responsible for, or to see people in the community that you know you've helped. I have concentrated every ounce of technical energy I have into the 25 square miles that is Starkville, and it's been a great ride. I came here straight out of college, working for Edward Kemp 13 years ago, and I've done this job for four years, and I really have enjoyed my journey here, and I wouldn't change anything about it. One of the things that has made this a little bit easier is knowing that the city and the And I would put our department, the engineering department, as the best in the state, probably the southeast, and I would put money on this nationally because I think that the guys are that good. And if you've heard me talk about the department and you've heard me talk about initiatives that we have, you may have noticed that I always use a plural form. I always say we. We did this project. We had this initiative. And I've said that naturally, but also intentionally because it really is a group effort, everything we've done. the $8 million we got for the roundabout on Highway 12 in your ward, to the National Pavement Preservation Awards we got, all the way to the miles and miles of sidewalk. It's always been a team effort. And there's nothing that I can say, you know, I did that, that was mine. It's really this collaborative group. If y'all work with this, y'all know this is true. It's all three of us sitting there in a circle. And I tell you that because you guys are in good hands with the people you have. And my hope is that when I leave, you won't notice too much of an absence when I'm gone. And to me, that's a success. That's what I would be proud of to say. And so as I've ruminated about this tonight and thought about thousands of things I want to tell everybody, you know, 13 years and five or six minutes, um, I've decided to take one out of the book of somebody that I respect very much. Chris Latimer did this about four or five years ago. And one of the things he stood up here and said was the best part about working for the city was the people that he worked with. And I have found that to be true. And so to that end, what I would like to do for just a couple of minutes is say thank you to a few people. Not in an Oscar acceptance mode, but as a way to say thank you. Because if there's anything that I would want people to remember at my departure, It would be that I expressed an overwhelming sense of gratitude, a sense of gratitude to this mayor and vice mayor and board, to the previous board for appointing me in this position. I can't believe he did it. I really can't. And so thank you for that. I've been behind the scenes, under the radar, and I know that. And so you took a leap of faith picking me. And I'm so glad you did. I hope I've met your expectations. Thank you to this board and mayor for supporting all the things we've done. We've pushed Starkville. We have pushed the envelope. We've stretched the community. And we have come up with a lot of ideas and initiatives. And over and over again, this board has supported us. So thank you all for that. I certainly want to thank the department heads, and yes, Steen and Daniel, I include you guys in that lot. You know, one of the things about Starville that I think is special is the collaboration we have between departments. And if you've worked with other communities, you know that's not always true. There's a huge disconnect. And at least from my perspective, there's this level of friendship, kinship, synergy that all the departments support each other. And it's been a special place to work. And it truly gives the taxpayers a better product from their staff when you get that. So it's something to be cherished. So thank you to them. And then I want to thank the engineering department. Steven Kackelman, who is the smartest person I've ever met. Chris Williams, who time and time again blows my mind with the good ideas that he can come up with. Y'all know this. To Mark Nance, which some of y'all may not know, but he is the watchdog for our infrastructure, which is a harder job than you know and a more important job than you know. And to Mr. Chris Black, who has taken the street department by the horns and has taken a huge weight off my shoulders in doing so. Those guys have made me look better than I am. They've made me a better engineer and a better person, and I owe a lot to them. So I want to tell them thank you. And then lastly, now what I'm missing a lot of people is just the public for entrusting me with their streets and drainage for 13 years. So as I kind of close this out, I would say that the thing I'll miss most about living here is this job and the people that I work with. I do hope that I can continue to make the community better on a much larger scale, closer to the tune of 50,000 square miles, and that I can use the things I've learned here to make the state of Mississippi a better place to live. But Starville will always be my home. So I've told a few of y'all this, don't have my funeral now. I'm not dying. I'll be back. I'll be back in a different capacity, but my number is the same. So reach out to me whether you need me or if you just want to say hi. So thank you all for everything. Health state, health starboard.

That's a nice send-off. And I do want to say, he is going to be, his last day is the 28th. He is going to be still doing remote work for Starville. And out of that, and I mentioned it at our work session, I think it's very important to note that he will be making a presentation on the civil link, on the streets presentation to Rotary here in town. He's also going to be making the same presentation to the Association of Supervisors down on the coast and the MML down the coast. So we'll have the opportunity to see that. And it speaks to the program and the strength of that program that he has allowed us to be a leader in that the rest of the state wants to hear about. So I take great pride for him in that because he was the initiator of it and we are the beneficiaries of it. All right. The other thing I did want to mention just real quickly, the new rails are up on Main Street along the northern area that's been finished. So you can get a feel for that bump out of the sidewalk and the area that will be there in kind of the same way you get to feel this side of it. So if you're up to it and want to get out of the heat or want to get in the heat, you can walk down there and check it out. All right. Having said that, I'll close out my comments. Alderman Moreland, anything? No, ma'am. Alderman Sistrunk? No, ma'am. Thank you. Alderman Skinner?

No, ma'am.

Alderman Brooks?

No, ma'am. Thank you.

Mayor, just a comment with you. I won't get our honorable engineer back, but I just want to confirm. I did ask him. I don't want to get him back up, but I did for the record. I did ask him when earlier, when will the contractor for the paving gets back into the remainder of the streets? And he mentioned to me probably the latter part of this month, or at least by the middle of June. I told him, thanks very much.

Whether permitting, we all are. That's right, that's right. Thank you, thank you, thank you. All of them involved in anything? No, ma'am, ma'am, thank you. All right, thank you. With that, we will move to citizens' comments. This is an opportunity for anyone to give us feedback. You have three minutes to do so. It is time we take compliments, complaints, and concerns. Mr. Turner, always nice to see you.

All right, good evening to the mayor and board. My name is Alvin Turner, Ward 7. to the mayor, to the police chief, to the fire chief, to the sanitation, and to the NACP president, Jerry Jefferson. Uh, the citizens is kind of concerned that, uh, Cone Stone was going to be a state of art and we wouldn't have any fighting or anything like that. But the citizens, they want to know when we'll be safe to, uh, uh, come back to Cone Stone without all the riffraff. Um, uh, and, uh, we, we, we thought that it was going to be safe. But they'll always be. But we just like to know when we'll be safe to come back, you know, even though we weren't expecting that. But they'll always be. We would like to also mention that Lafayette Street, where John C. Shop used to be, we have long-wheel-based trucks, and you cannot get down the street. And they wanted me to mention that as well. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Turner. Anyone else under citizens' comments? Now's the time.

Hello, my name is Laurel Lynn Rouse. I live in Ward 3. The topic of my comment today is regarding the utility assistance program that it's been in the newspaper. It's on the agenda today. I wanted to make a comment Also wanted to note, I am commenting as myself. This is not the views of my employer. I do support the idea of giving customer assistance to the very lowest income in need of assistance, should there be a method of selecting those folks. And so I realize that there's problem with our potential shaky legal ground it was reported that the current program is on so I encourage the board to seek if there's another way to still have this the same utilities assistance if it could be done a different way I think that The Water Environment Federation, it's a professional association. They have some resources that might be looked into. I don't know if there is a relevant way that that can be done, but I'm happy to share that report with you all and encourage you to seek other methods of that. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Watts. Anyone else?

Good afternoon. My name is Sandra Ware. I'm still concerned about my street, Sadie Ware's street. I did talk to the superintendent. He did pull the video that the bus driver was speeding, and he still is speeding. I just spoke. Last Thursday, I was getting out of my car, and the bus driver come through there in steady speed, and I said, slow that vehicle down. And I had to get back in my car and went and found the officer and said hey y'all need to patrol our area a little bit more and i just talked to the chief and he said he was going to say about that thank you anyone else and please forgive me i was literally working in the yard and i said oh my god i gotta run

So please forgive my dress. I'm Darlene Hasson. I saw a notice on a parcel of land over on Ruth Road. I think it says 201 Ruth Road, and it was about the cleanliness and that type thing of the condition of the property.

Can I stop you just for a minute? Sure. We will have a public hearing on that if you want to wait until that time, or you can go ahead and say whatever you want to say. You have three minutes.

Okay. Mine is just letting y'all know something. There's a colony of cats over there. Not that y'all even care one way or another. but i see them i feed them and anyway so just to let y'all know before you start caring maybe if you could get the you know i know i think it's i don't know if that's in the county or if it's considered city okay and then maybe you could get animal control to try to trap them or something before you tear it down or whatever's gonna happen that was all thank you appreciate you coming out all right yes ma'am anyone else

Mayor, Board, Honorable Board, I'm Walter O'Queason, and I see here I apparently have been moved to the consent agenda. I presume that's the gray area?

Yes, sir. And it has been reported that your properties have been moved.

Okay, so there's no action being taken here, but that's not worded that way.

It was on the consent agenda. It has been done. It was noted as a dilapidated property, and you've mowed them, so we will be taking no further action.

Okay. Could that be recorded in a minute?

It will be part of the agenda or part of the meeting. Anyone else? Under Citizens' Comments. Anyone else? All right. Seeing none, I will close it as Citizens' Comments. And we will move to public hearings. Our first public hearing is Mississippi Code 21-1911 for 201 Ruth Road. Officer Harvey.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Board of Aldermen. I'm here to present to you a 21-1911 on 201 Ruth Road, Starkville, Mississippi, 39759, parcel number 159J-00-028.01. The pictures were taken, the first initial pictures, well, the owner of the property shows Prescott Robredo. Roberta. My apologies. And the initial pictures were taken from the roadway on April 7th, 2026 at approximately 0800 hours. And you could see from the roadway damage from the roof and damage on the fascia and rotting wood there. You also see damage on the damage and missing shingles and stuff on the roof there with damage and considerable damage there on the backside of the property. The letter of violation was sent April 8th, 2026 and a public hearing was also posted on the city hall on the property and mailed to the owner on April 23rd, 2026. The inspection warrant was signed by Judge Kelly on April 22nd, 2026 and executed by myself, Sergeant Gillen, and building official McMullen and Inspector Rogers on April 23rd, 2026 at approximately 1530 hours. There shows Again, there's no change to the property from the notice to the warrant. And you can see a close up of the damage there with the rotted siding and damage to the roof. Same here on the side. The back of the property shows bowing walls and damaged roof right here, holes in the roof in the back. On the inside of some of these units here you can see the missing ceiling, roof, sagging drywall and cracks in the drywall along with more missing ceiling and roofs. The reinspection was done May 18th, 2026, showing no change in the property. These pictures were taken from the city roadway. Is there any questions for me?

I'm going to do a little preface because this was originally handled by the board a couple of years ago prior to the Alderman Popes and prior to Alderman Skinner being on the board. And so we went through the court process. and this particular 21-19-11 action is not told. while you're in court. I asked Mr. Huskisson to research that, and the response was that that is not told, which is why this is coming back to us. Nothing has been done to make any improvements to it, and we are finding ourselves right back where we were a couple of years ago, and so that's the reason it's back before us without having any action taken to it. So, Mr. Huskisson, anything you want to add as it relates to the explanation that goes with that? Okay.

Well, Mayor, I recall the history really well for purposes of the record in case as appellate review with regard to this presentation up to this point in the hearing, the code enforcement officer certainly has met all the notice requirements. that's required for the hearing. It appears that the property owner may be in the room. The administrative inspection warrant was obtained from the city's municipal judge to gain and have the necessary legal access. There were photos taken from the road, which is legally permissible. And certainly up to this point, since we're having and we're going to get into the public hearing, but to this point, from what I see, the properties clearly for purposes of this record clearly fall within the meaning of dilapidated structure as defined. Uh, within the, um, the statutory provision, so I'm at the instant hearing. Uh, what is additionally said for this hearing? The pictures clearly indicate that there's substantial evidence, but I'm going to reserve judgment on my opinion until we get the record complete. But I want the record to reflect at this point for purposes of this record and for purposes of judicial review that we certainly have met all the notice requirements and the photos and evidence so far clearly demonstrates that the properties in question appear to be dilapidated within the meaning of the law. So, Mayor, I'm going to be listening to see what other evidence is presented, and I'd like to be recognized toward the end of this hearing. Thank you.

And there will be four opportunities of this because each one of these properties is owned by the same individual. But at this point, before I open it as a public hearing, Mr. Prysock, would you like to come forward to the board and make any statements? Absolutely.

Probably need to start where we were a long time before. In the Court of Appeals of the State of Mississippi, NO 2020-CA-00662-COA, Walter P. O. Queason versus the City of Starkville, Mississippi, and D. Lynn Spruill. There's a couple little issues here. Back on page 8. Article 3, Section 23 of the Mississippi Constitution protects all land owned by persons searched. Section 23 of the Mississippi Constitution provides... the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, and possessions from unreasonable seizure or search, and no warrant shall be issued without probable cause supported by oath or affirmation, specially designing the place to be searched and the person or thing to be seized. This initially goes back to on or about September the 1st, 2023, when your previous code enforcement person, Martinez or whatever her name was, that's now at the Sheriff's Department, trespassed on the property. And so, you know, that's not fully done. As of today, I have not received anything from the court on the court cases. As you know, my attorney passed last fall, and the court is required to provide me their ruling. As of today, I have received nothing from the court. I did find out they mailed it to a non-existent address that when all the addresses were changed in the county, it was changed. So that's kind of where we are. There is a 4-H in the file with the court. A 4-H says you didn't tell me about it and you need to open it back up and give me a 30-day window to appeal. So that's where we are from a 16th Circuit standpoint as far as I know, unless Mr. Hutch can tell me something different.

I don't have any reason to respond to you, but that's not accurate.

Well, I don't know what's accurate, what's not accurate.

Mr. Price, this is a new proceeding, and we're starting over again.

Once you trespass on my property, you can't just say, oh, we don't do it anymore.

Mr. Price, that has been litigated. This is a whole new round. So do you have anything to say?

The trespass is still there. The trespass has not been resolved.

Look, we're not arguing with you about it. We understand. So that's where we are.

We understand your position. And I've got something back here. I believe it's on page 13. Oh, by the way, I would like to get a copy of the affidavit for that search warrant that is required.

Noted.

When can I get it?

It will be after today.

Okay. So is it going to tell me that Judge Kelly was told we've been here before and this property has been trespassed on and is not fully resolved?

There is no response to go into this, Mr. Price. Make whatever presentation you want and then please sit down and we'll open it as a public hearing, okay? Okay.

Yeah, somewhere here is the code on you. You have to have those darn little pesky affidavits.

Do you have anything else to share with us?

Yes, I do. I was having to find it. Thank you. Article 3, Section 23 of the Mississippi Constitution prohibits warrantless administrative searches. So that's where we are.

Okay. Thank you, sir. All right. At this time, I'll open it as a public hearing. Anyone wishing to speak to this matter as it relates to 201 Ruth Road, parcel number 159J-00-028.01 as being in such a state of uncleanliness as to be a menace to the public health, safety, and welfare of the community is such that cleanup of the property should occur. Now would be your opportunity, either for or against it. Seeing no one, I will close it as a public hearing, and I would entertain a motion, and then we'll get into discussion if someone wants to have a discussion. Do I have a motion? So moved. I have a motion from Alderman Moreland. Do I have a second? Second. Second from Alderman Sistrunk. Okay, discussion. Anyone wish to discuss the matter? Vice Mayor, was this the time at which you wish to have a discussion?

Yes, ma'am. Basically, Mayor, I want to say briefly, we've seen the evidence that's been presented. We've heard from the prop donor, and all the notice requirements have been met, and it appears from the evidence presented at this hearing today that there is sufficient evidence to support the action that supports the motion that's offered from the colleague from Warren.

All right. Thank you. And having heard no information from the property owner as to why I would be in such a state, I have a motion and a second. Alderman Brooks, I don't mean to leave you out. Do you have anything you wish to add to this? No, thank you. All right. Thank you. Then we'll move to a vote. If you would, please answer yay or nay as the city clerk calls your name.

Alderman Moreland.

Yay.

Alderman Sistrunk. Yay. Alderman Skinner.

Yay.

Alderman Brooks. Yay. Alderman Pocup. Yay. Vice Mayor Perkins. Yay. Alderman Vaughn. Yay.

All right. Thank you. The board has voted unanimously that this property is in such a state of uncleanliness to be a menace and that such cleanup should occur. Moving to Mississippi Code 21-1911 regarding 245 Ruth Road.

Good evening. Our next 21-19-11 I'd like to present to you is for 245 Ruth Road, Starfield, Mississippi, 39759, parcel number 159J-00-028.01. The owner shows as Roberta Presak and the first inspection was taken from the roadway by myself on April 7th, 2026. Here you can see the overgrown property with the hole in the roof there. and the front of the property being well overgrown. The notice of violation was sent to the owner on April 8th, 2026. The public hearing was posted on the City Hall on the property and sent to the property owner on April 23rd, 2026. The administrative warrant was signed by Judge Kelly on April 22nd, 2026 and executed on April 23rd, 2026 by myself, Sergeant Gillen, building official Nick Mullen and Inspector Rogers. The warrant shows the no change since then from the letter to the warrant. And you can see the overgrown vegetation. You can see a closer look of what the front looks like behind that vegetation where the front porch would be. On the inside you can see significant cracking where you can see daylight. Significant cracking here as well. Some rotting ceiling here. You can see the back of the house here has completely collapsed. The floor, the ceiling has holes in it, a lot of rotting wood and walls. Same here. The back of the house here has shown fallen siding and rotted siding here. Just a closer look of the same photo there. A re-inspection was done on May 18th, 2026 by myself and Sergeant Gillen from the roadway. And you can see that there's been no change to the property. Any other questions on this one?

Questions of Officer Harville. All right. Same situation. Mr. Prosok, I assume as a property owner you would be making the same statement regarding this piece of property as you did the previous one? It needs to be read into a record. If you would like to come forward, please do so.

One other thing, these notices appear to be overly broad. They don't tell you exactly what you need to do to fix it. And that's a point that has been brought out in court before, because this is just a sort of a shotgun shot thing that says, fix it, whatever that means. So we don't know what that means. And that's, I'm sure, something that will probably be litigated again. And again, we go back to the Court of Appeals of the State of Mississippi, number 2020-CA-00662-COA, Walter P. O'Quisson versus the City of Starkville, Mississippi, and D. Lynn Spruill. And I believe it was on page 8. Article 3, Section 23 of the Mississippi Constitution protects all land owned by a person certs. The people shall be secure in their persons, houses, and possessions from unreasonable seizure or search, and no warrant shall be issued without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, specially designating the place to be searched and the person or thing to be seized. And again, would like to get that affidavit. The other issue is the, you know, once there's also a little section in here about the city's code being unconstitutional as far as their search process. So you might want to take that with a grain of salt. I brought this up two and a half years ago. And from what I can tell, the city's just doubled down. So here we go again.

Thank you, Mr. Prysop. I will now open it as a public hearing. Anyone wishing to speak to this matter now is your opportunity as it relates to 245 Ruth Road, parcel number 159J-00-028.01. Mr. Oquisa. Thank you.

I don't know what this board knows about the hardship Mr. Prysock has had recently. His wife, I think, died about a year ago. His mother died about, Four years ago, five years ago. And I think this is her property. I think that's Roberta. And his son. I believe I saw an obituary a couple of months ago that he died. I know... that you were chomping at the bit and want to come to a resolution because that's good politics, very good politics. Nobody's going to stand up and speak on Dwight's behalf. Republicans, Democrats, nobody.

Mr. If you could speak up a little bit because we have people listening, sir.

Nobody's going to stand up and speak on his behalf. It doesn't make good politics for me to stand up here. I will probably bear the wrath of the lightning rod or the other saying, it's the nail in the floorboard that gets the hammer. But sometimes there are other extenuating circumstances you are unaware of. And I know that Dwight never complains about the burden he carries. But I do notice it. And I just ask that this honorable board take it into consideration.

Thank you, Mr. O'Quiston. All right. Anyone else in the public hearing? Anyone else? Seeing none, I will close it as a public hearing. We have a matter before us. Any discussion? Well, let's get a motion first. Do I have a motion? I have a motion from Alderman Moore. Do I have a second?

Second.

Vice Mayor. All right. I have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All those in favor? I'm sorry.

The comments are duly noted. I don't think there's been any effort to make improvements of any sort to this property in the two years since this was previously before us. And I do think that it's clearly not inhabitable. It is a public safety and health issue, just for the record, as the vice mayor would say. Thank you.

All right. I do have a motion and a second. If you would please answer yay or nay as the city clerk calls your name.

Alderman Moreland. Yay. Alderman Sistrunk. Yay. Alderman Skinner.

Yay.

Alderman Brooks.

Yay.

Alderman Pocock. Yay. Vice Mayor Perkins. Yay. Alderman Vaughn.

Yay. It is unanimous that the board defines that 245 Roof Road 159J-00-028.01 is in such a state of uncleanliness as to be administered to the public health, safety, and welfare such that cleanup of the property should occur. Next we have 305 Ruth Road under the same code section, 21-19-11, Officer Harvey.

Good evening. For our next 21-1911 that I'd like to present to you guys is for 305 Ruth Road, Starkville, Mississippi, 39759, parcel number 159J-00-02628.01. The owner shows Robert Prescott as the owner. And the first initial inspection was done on April 7th from the roadway by myself. And you can see the property here, got a lot of vegetation overgrowth and the front porch being collapsed a little bit. You can see a better look here at some fallen siding and some rotted siding here as well the notice of violation was mailed out on April 8th 2026 and the Public hearing was posted on City Hall on the property and mailed to the owner on April 23rd 2026 and The administrative warrant was signed by Judge Kelly on April 22nd, 2026 and executed by myself, Sergeant Gillen, Building Official McMullen, and Inspector Rogers on April 23rd, 2026 at approximately 1530 hours. Here you can see a much closer look at the front of the property here with the siding rotting off and falling off of the collapsed front porch. Here's the collapsed front porch here. On the porch you can see separation of the room there to the main part of the house as well as some roof damage and some missing fascia that should be here. The backside of the house or side of the house shows broken window that has been boarded up and hard to see on the slide here, but there's also a hole that is loosely covered by some tarping. The back of the house here is well overgrown and it's also hard to see here with the shadow, but there's also roof damage here that's there that goes up back into the house. What you're looking at here is a hole used by hundreds of bees flying in and out that were actively flying in and out during the warrants, potentially their home. On the side here you can see more rotted fascia and siding there. The reinspection of the property was done on the roadway by myself and Sergeant Gillen and you can see that there is no change to the property.

Thank you. Any questions of officers? Okay. Thank you. Mr. Prysop, would you like to come read into the record again? Or if you would like to, you're welcome to just hand that to the city clerk and we will include that as both this and the next item on the agenda.

The one thing somebody should note, the reason I haven't done much repair on that property Is because about 2 years ago, you've got to issue a demolition order. So I'm told never seen anything in writing. So it would be absolutely foolish for me to spend money on fixing things when the city could any day come and tear it down. So that's where we are folks. Again, in the Court of Appeals of the State of Mississippi, number 2020-CA-00662-COA, Walter P. O'Queason versus the City of Starkville, Mississippi, and D. Lynn Spruill. Back to our same little thing over here. Article 3, Section 23 of the Mississippi Constitution protects all land owned by the person searched. Section 23 of the Mississippi Constitution provides the people shall be secure in their person, houses, and possessions from an unreasonable seizure or search, and no warrant shall be issued without probable cause supported by oath or affirmation, especially designing the place to be searched and the person or thing to be seized. This was a 38-page no-trespassing order, by the way, from the Court of Appeals to the city. And then don't forget Article 3, Section 23 of the Mississippi Constitution, prohibits warrantless administrative searches.

All right. Thank you, Mr. Prysock. Is there something else?

I do.

While you look for it, why don't you step back and let me open it as a public hearing, and then I'll let you come back up if you'd like. I'll open it as a public hearing. Anyone wishing to speak to the matter associated with 305 Ruth Road, parcel number 159J-00-028.01. Now would be the time, either for or against. I ain't seeing none. Mr. Prysock, do you want to come read whatever else it is into the record?

Okay, and Section 6. The Board's decision declaring Oquistion's property of public minutes must be reversed and rendered. The Board's decision to declare Oquistion's property of public minutes was based on evidence photographs obtained by the City in violation of Oquistion's right under Section 23 of the Mississippi Constitution. The City should not have been able to use that evidence against Oquistion in this civil proceeding And therefore, the board's decision declaring a quiescent property a public nuisance cannot stand. And I know you're going to argue with this is a new deal, but I refer you back to December the 5th, 2023 board meeting where you produced all of those pictures. And once you've produced it, you can't take it away from somebody as you two attorneys know. Have a good day.

Thank you, Mr. Prysock. And that has been litigated. Do I have a motion? So moved. All right. Alderman Moreland, I have a motion from Alderman Moreland. Do I have a second?

Second.

Second from Alderman Skinner. All right. Any other discussion? If you would, please answer yay or nay as the city clerk calls your name.

Alderman Moreland.

Yay.

Alderman Sistrunk.

Yay.

Alderman Skinner.

Yay.

Alderman Brooks.

Yay.

Alderman Pocup?

Yay.

Vice Mayor Perkins? Yay. And Alderman Vaughn?

Yay. All right, thank you. The board has found unanimously that 305 Roof Road, parcel number 159J-00-028.01, is in such a state of uncleanliness as to be a menace to the public health, safety, and welfare such that cleanup of the property should occur. And last but not least, we have one more item, which is under 21-19-11. The property located at 325 Ruth Road, 159J-00-028.01. Officer Hart.

Good evening. Our last 21-1911 I'd like to present to you tonight will be for 325 Ruth Road, Starkville, Mississippi, 39759. Parcel number 159J-00-028.01. The owner shows Roberta Prescott. And the initial inspection was done from the roadway on April 7th, 2026. Here you can see the property of the roof of the properties leaning in in the center here and. The front porch is torn down. Here's a better picture for you guys right here. And you can see siding has also been rotting and falling off of the home. as well as some shingles are damaged and broken there. The initial notice of violation was done on April 8th, 2026, and the public hearing was posted at the city hall, the property, and mailed to the owner on April 23rd, 2026. The administrative warrant was signed by Judge Kelly on April 22nd, 2026, and executed by myself, Sergeant Gillen, Building Official McMullen, and Inspector Rogers on April 23rd, 2026. Here you can see a closer look and no change from the letter to the warrant of overgrown vegetation, damage to the fascia and soffits and roof, rotted siding. You can see the wall blowing out here. exterior wall on the side of the building. On the inside of the building you can see plenty of holes in the roof and missing ceiling as well as collapsed floor and collapsed back part of that building as well as completely collapsed. You can see more rotten damage and falling apart of the fascia and hole in the wall here on the side entrance of the building. The back part of the building is completely collapsed and overgrown, as you can see right here. A re-inspection of the property was done May 18, 2026, and showed that there was no change to the property, and that's all I've got.

Any questions of Officer Harville? All right, seeing none. Mr. Pressup, would you like to come make your statement?

And the Court of Appeals of the State of Mississippi, number 2020-CA-00662-COA, Walter P. O'Quisson v. The City of Starkville, Mississippi, and D. Lynn Spruill. Back to our favorite page 8. Article 3, Section 23 of the Mississippi Constitution, protects all land owned by the person searched. Section 23 of the Mississippi Constitution provides, the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, and possessions. from unreasonable seizure or search, and no warrant shall be issued without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, specially designating the place to be searched and the person or thing to be seized. And then I'll just refer to the administrative warrantless search, but you can't do that. And the fact that it's been sad to watch this property deteriorate. If you go back to your September 2023 pictures versus the pictures of today, you can see how much the actions of the board and the city have allowed that property to deteriorate.

Thank you, Mr. Brassock. I'll open it as a public hearing now is the opportunity. Anyone wishing to speak to it, this would be your opportunity to do so.

I'm Walter O'Quason. I'd like to have entered into the record the fact that Dwight Prysock had opposed the recent annexation of property that still does not have city services and I believe that all aldermen would probably consider him to be the ringleader perhaps. And I see that there's no sympathy on the board for him. I guess this is what we come to in this nation. We're divided. Some people have worked all their lives for little gain. Other people have reaped humongous gains well out of proportion to the effort that they put in. But life is not fair. Life is not fair. And we must accept that.

Thank you, Mr. O'Quiston.

That's one of the hardest lessons that we must learn in life. Thank you very much.

Thank you, sir. All right. I'll close it as a public hearing. Do I have a motion? So moved. I have a motion from Alderman Moreland. Do I have a second?

Second.

Second from Alderman Skinner. Did I hear someone? Oh, Alderman Brooks, was that you? Yeah, Alderman Skinner was first, but we can get you to vote here in just a moment. Any further discussion?

May I recognize?

Vice-Mayor?

Mayor, I'm going to support this motion. The evidence is real clear that the property is a menace to the public health, safety, and welfare. And there has been some allegations during the public hearing that about the petitioner opposed the annexation. Certainly, there's been no evidence that the board is taking an action based on annexation. Matter of fact, that's even not an issue. It's relevant as to this hearing because there's no evidence. And the decision, in my opinion, is based upon the evidence. And the petitioner alleges that the city has caused the property to deteriorate. There's been no evidence. And that needs to be clear in case a reviewing court looks at this. So there's been no evidence that any decision by this board with regard to annexation place any bearing on this case. And it does not the decision tonight based upon the motion that was made based on the evidence. And there's. Substantial evidence that that this property is a means to the public health, safety and welfare. The presenter from the code enforcement department, the division was top police department has shown substantial evidence through photos to this board, a mirror and board and vice mayor of the property in question. We have viewed numerous pictures, which obviously Mr attorneys is a part of this motion is to be attached to. as evidence that will go along with the public hearing recordings to this record and to any review in court. So I just want to be finally clear that the decision is based solely on the evidence that is in hand and that the city has not done anything of any manner, type, or kind to cause this property to deteriorate. So, Mayor, with that being said, I support the motion. Thank you.

Thank you, Vice Mayor. And I'll put a finer point on that. Not in this entire period of time since the original or since the finding of this board a couple of years ago, over which we've been in litigation, has Mr. Prysop come forward in order to obtain a building permit, a demo permit, or any other effort to come forward to the community development department to move forward with any kind of remediation. All right. I have a motion and a second. If you would please answer yay or nay as the city clerk calls your name.

Alderman Moreland.

Yay.

Alderman Sistrunk. Yay. Alderman Skinner.

Yay.

Alderman Brooks.

Yay.

Alderman Pocock. Yay. Vice Mayor Perkins. Yay. Alderman Vaughn.

Yay. The Board of Aldermen finds unanimously that the property located at 325 Ruth Road is in such a state of uncleanliness as to be a menace to the public health, safety, and welfare of the community such that cleanup of the property should occur. All right. That moves us to, under Mayor's Business, there's a resolution of Mayor, Board of Aldermen, and City of Starkville about abandoning and vacating a public lane located between West Gillespie and McKinley Street in Starkville. Mr. Powell, would you mind bringing that forward just for discussion purposes? Because I think they reached out to you first.

Yes.

So they reached out to me first. There's a piece of property, I don't have the graphic or anything, that is shown on our map as

a public right-of-way that's in between two apartment complexes. And so one of the owners of the apartment complex wants to convert it into a condo, which then it goes from just a one owner to six owners. And so as part of that, we said that they should kind of take over control of the right of way. So it just kind of removes it all out of the way for future owners and to kind of clean up the plat as a whole.

And the city was not aware that we had any ownership right or otherwise to that piece of property. Correct. And Mr. Huskisson, you've been working on the... The resolution you're working with the owner, is that correct?

Yeah, one of the owners is very supportive. The other one has not taken a position either way.

Okay, all right. Board, any questions regarding this? It is not something that we have any reason to have any desire to maintain. It's private. It stops. It's a little tiny street that stops at a hill. It goes no further. I think there may be some... Something on the other side that would be hindrance to even punching it through for any reason at all.

Mainly a driveway.

Yeah. Basically, yes. So, can I get a motion? So moved. I have a motion from Alderman Moreland. Do I have a second?

Second.

Second from Alderman Poco. Any further discussion? All those in favor? Nope. There we go. If you would, please answer yay or nay as the city clerk calls your name.

Alderman Moreland. Yay. Alderman Sistrunk. Yay. Alderman Skinner. Yay. Alderman Brooks. Yay. Alderman Pocup. Yay. Vice Mayor Perkins. Yay. Alderman Vaughn.

Yay. Thank you so much. All right. Under Board Business, this is the tax increment financing revenue bonds that we have addressed on a couple of different occasions. I see Ms. Christiana Sykes is in the audience. Would you like to come forward and give us a little bit of this, please, ma'am? I believe we had one alderman who was interested in hearing a little bit more about it. Maybe a little background. Please, ma'am, again.

Good evening. My name is Christiana Sugg. I'm here on behalf of HPM, the developer of this project. This project was approved. I don't have my TIF plan in front of me. I believe it's 2014. Maybe it was 2016. The board has recently agreed to extend the development agreement to give us one additional year to have bonds issued. We have collected documentation regarding the revenues generated by the developments. Right now the development includes a car dealership and there are additional plans to eventually develop the balance of the property. However, we have asked the board in exchange for giving us an additional year to have the bonds issued to cap our amount of reimbursement to a million dollars. And we are now asking that the board move ahead with the issuance of the TIF bonds. The TIF bonds are based upon the increase in the ad valorem taxes and sales taxes generated from the project, and it's only based on 50%. So 50% of that increase goes back to the city from the sales taxes as well as back to the city's ad valorem and the county's ad valorem as well. We appreciate the city's continued support of this development. It has been a long road. It was delayed by COVID, and we would appreciate the city's consideration of the bond resolution so we can go ahead and move forward and wrap it up.

Thank you, Mayor. Attorney, this project came back to us around about 2015 and has had slow movement. What assurances do we have that this project is going to become a reality if we take this action?

Well, a portion of the project, and the portion of the project that can support the bonds has actually become a reality. That is the car dealership that located out there. As part of the negotiations with the city, originally the city approved up to $3 million in bonds, and we're agreeing to only have... The amount of bonds that can be supported by the car dealership, which is half of the car dealership's ad valorem taxes and half of the car dealership's sales tax rebates, limit the amount of bonds to be issued ever to that portion. So if there's only enough revenue to support $800,000 worth of bonds, the balance of that $3 million will never be issued.

Thank you, Mayor.

Yes, sir. Any other questions? No? Okay. I do need a motion.

Move approval.

Motion from Alderman Sistrunk. Do I have a second? Second. Second from Alderman Moreland. Any further discussion? All right. If you would, please answer yay or nay as the city clerk calls your name.

Alderman Moreland.

Yay.

Alderman Sistrunk. Yay. Alderman Skinner.

Yay.

Alderman Brooks.

Yay.

Alderman Pocop.

Yay.

Vice Mayor Perkins.

Yay.

Alderman Vaughn.

Yay.

All right. Motion passes. Thank you so much. I appreciate you being here. Thank you for your time. Have a good evening. Okay. You too. All right. Our next item is the claims docket. Do I have a motion? Move approval.

You took the one off consent.

Oh, I'm sorry. It was highlighted and I was still going later. My apologies. All right. Back under community development. Excuse me. Discussion and consideration of preliminary flat 25-01, Sterling Ridge. Excuse me.

This is a request by Richard engineering on behalf of Charles Morgan for a preliminary flat for Sterling, which subdivision located in the Southwest intersection of highway 182 and mockingbird road and a T in dash in zoning district. Previously, this was applied for as a special exception for a town home development that was ultimately denied. This request has nothing to do with that request. The gross acreage of the property is approximately 51.9 acres with a total of 163 lots being proposed, which gives it a density of 3.19 units per acre. Most of the easements have been shown on the plat. The electricity will be served by 4 counties. The potable water and sanitary sewer service will be provided by Stark Utilities. The final plat is a Class C survey in accordance with state law. And the applicant has indicated that this is not part of any previously platted subdivision. Just to kind of orient you to this, Mockingbird Lane, this image is upside down. So 182 is the bottom. This is Mockingbird. So there's an entrance that's going on the west side, comes straight off 182, and then on the east side, it comes off of Mockingbird Lane. And then to the top of the slide, which is actually the south, is the creek. And this is an image that's actually oriented correctly that kind of shows how it's superimposed over what's around it. You can see the subdivision to the south and their lots and how their orientation is and then how this ties into the existing road. On May 1st, 2026, the development review community approved a preliminary plot along with several recommendations for conditions from utility and engineering department. Those are then presented to the planning and zoning commission. It's five conditions that you see here that are in the packet. The first one is basically regarding a five-foot-wide strip of land on every lot to reserve utilities. The second one is a professional engineering analysis must be rerun for the final site design. The third one is the buildings and flood-prone areas must be elevated. And then the fourth one is project cannot push water onto neighboring properties south of Josie Creek. And then the fifth one is a 24-inch layer of stable soil must be provided under all new streets.

and then the on may 12th to 2026 the planning zoning commission voted you actually recommended approval with these five staff recommended conditions okay thank you okay and i know that they're the part of this issue is the street so mr burnett would you come up and and give us a little bit of the requirement associated with the streets based on our historical perspective please

Yes, ma'am. This strata of soil that runs the west side of town from north to south, it really at least starts where Cornerstone is and goes all the way up. This is historically very poor. We've had certainly seen some really poor soil at Cornerstone and the existing subdivision just south of this location, Highland Estates, has certainly suffered from really poor soil. And this is anecdotal, but it's also supported through geotechnical boards, which we have. Mr. Pritchard provided those. And so the condition is to effectively take your design pavement base and provide a buffer between those. MDOT has a standard operating procedure for this. They require a three foot buffer and they are the state, we are a community. So it's a little different, but this is a two foot buffer and we also had an independent letter written to the city from a geotechnical firm to look at the data and tell us what would you recommend if this was your road. it recommended a two to three foot buffer in all scenarios. And so this is not necessarily a question of can the pavement support the traffic? This is a question of does the underlying native soil shrink and swell enough that it causes that street to unduly suffer in the future. And since the city is responsible for the maintenance after it's constructed, I feel that this is providing an equitable and long-term investment for the city that wouldn't require us to come maintain it any more frequently than anything else we maintain. So this is truly just an exercise in making sure we get a good road in perpetuity.

Okay. Any questions of Mr. Burnett? All right. Thank you so much. Yes, ma'am. I understand the applicant is here. Mr. Pritchard, are you going to make the representation for the applicant? I will. Okay.

I'm Clyde Pritchard with Pritchard Engineering. We're the civil geotechnical engineers for the project. And contrary to Mr. Baum, the rumors of my demise are exaggerated. Thank you, board, for your time tonight. Thank you for your service to the community. And you've shown extraordinary patience tonight. But I would like to comment on condition five for the additional structure for the streets. Some of you know I've been practicing in the community here for over 30 years. We are geotechnical engineers by trade. We've designed a lot of the roads and streets in the community. the pavement structure that we recommended on the plat well exceeds the design guidelines for neighborhood streets arterial streets in fact for those of you that are familiar with the widening we did on blackjack road the three-lane section that goes from the veterinary school down through the apartments it exceeds what we did on blackjack so we're very comfortable with the design that we presented on the preliminary plat. Again, it exceeds the city's guidelines. I would also note that the city's requirements are such that you're not accepting these streets until a large part of the construction is done. And then you would have an inspection that would require us to repair and patch anything that needed patching before we put the final surface off. So we think the front end requirement of the additional buffer, as Mr. Burnett said, is excessive. We think it's an excessive front end cost that's not wanted. And we'd ask you to consider that and remove condition five. Any questions for me?

None of the other conditions are an issue, so it's just condition five?

They are not, Mr. Burnett and I, although we butt heads on occasion. We've worked through most of those. We're comfortable with the hydrology. We're comfortable with the drainage. We would just feel like this is a bit of an extra ask for the street sections.

Any questions of Mr. Pritchard?

Let me ask him a question. You're asking to remove condition five? I'm sorry, I misunderstood. What did you say about condition five?

The requirement that we provide the 24-inch buffer, the section we have has 18, the upper eight of which are soil cemented with asphalt base and asphalt surface. We refer to that, Alderman Perkins, as a structural number, which is provided in the city's guidelines as what that has to be for arterial or neighborhood or primary streets, and we've well exceeded that.

But you're not speaking against number five?

I'm asking that the 24-inch be amended or released to just accept the pavement structure we have on the preliminary plan.

May I ask our engineer a question, please? Mr. Burnett, is it your request that we stick strictly with your recommendations?

Yes, sir. It is.

Yes, sir. I just want to be clear. Okay. Thank you, sir.

Okay, that's all of us.

Yes, ma'am. My soul and world, Katie, do you mind giving a little bit background on the streets and for instance, um, goldfinch in that? What kind of got us here with the street conditions? So the.

Gold Finch is extremely, the roads are extremely bad in that area. In fact, the city soil cemented, which is the same section being used for this neighborhood, a few years ago, and it's cracking, to be honest with you. We had a specific report done for the entire neighborhood, and the report generally said, remove it all five feet deep and build it back. And so we're just a couple hundred feet north of this. This is not an issue of if the pavement structure is not a good one. I think Mr. Pritchard does a wonderful job and has a good section. This is an issue of an extremely unique and terrible soil that exists in this part of the community. And the structure number that supports your traffic is a part of the equation, but it's only as good as what's underneath it. So it's really a question of It does exceed the recommendation of the code, but the code explicitly allows the engineering department to make additional requirements based on the area itself. That's written in the code today. It's not a special requirement. We have to get approved. And so that's what we have done as a part of this. This condition solidifies that, but this is to ensure that this certainly good pavement section that Mr. Fitcher has designed is supported by dirt that will not cause it to crack and rupture over time. Thank you.

Yes, ma'am.

the external engineer that you got to comment on this agrees that the 24 inches is um the most reasonable amount that we should consider to protect that road in perpetuity or as long into the future as we can can anticipate yes ma'am they gave four different pavement sections and the buffer goes from two to three feet depending on what's on top and we felt that with the section mr pritchard had designed a two foot buffer was reasonable

All right. Anything else? Anyone else? All right. Thank you. Anything else you wanted to say, Mr. Pritchard? Just a final comment.

I would say that we're very familiar with the soils. We have lakeside apartments, Pine Lake Church, George Bryan Field, that we've all, that we, being Pritchard Engineering, have worked on the pavements and sections for. So, again, we're very comfortable with what we have And I would say again, before the city accepts these streets, you have a chance to assess them and anything that this tremendous amount of construction traffic that it will take to build 162 homes or 80% of 162 homes will rebuild. You have opportunity to repair that before the city accepts the streets. So this is a front-end cost, again, that I don't believe is warranted on this project.

And that's 162 homes? Is that how many? I think it's down to 163.

162, 163 is somewhere around there, but it's going to be an 80% build-out before you accept them, and we're going to get a chance to look at all that, or you're going to require us to look at that and repair anything before we put the final surface on.

Thank you, Mr. Pritchard. Mayor, may I for a second?

Alderman Morland.

Mr. Pritchard, I know what you're saying about us accepting the roads. My concern is not when you're done with your project. My concern is 10 years from now. And that's kind of if it can hold up longevity. And that's the issue for me.

Yes. And Alderman Morland, all I would say again... I don't know where our own Pinewood Church has been there. We did that as a Milsap Chevrolet before it turned into Pinewood Church, Lakeside Apartments. We've got projects inside of this that have a long, proven history of Oprah. Thank you. Anyone else Mary, just 1 last thing.

Thank you very much. Mayor. Let me say for the record. I'm not going to go against our engineer. He sees well season. He understands the requirements from engineering perspective. That's his field that his training that his education that his expertise. If we're going to prove this tonight, I'm certainly requesting that this on the board. And all of us stand behind his recommendation and we need to follow his recommendation. He's trained in his field We don't need to second guess his his decisions. He's the expert in the field. That's why he's our engineer. So I'm trusting that we approve this matter tonight that we strictly follow every word on all five of those Criterions that being recommended unanimously by the playing in the zoning commission mayor. Thank you. I yield I

So moved, Mayor. Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Second. And I have a second from Alderman Sistrock. And note that Alderman Moreland has left the room. Okay. If you would, please. Would you come back in? Okay. All right. Any further discussion? All right. If you would, please answer yay or nay as the city clerk calls your name. And let there be light. Thank you. Thank you.

Alderman Moreland. Yay. Alderman Sistrunk. Yay. Alderman Skinner. Yay. Alderman Brooks.

Yay.

Alderman Pocup. Yay. Vice Mayor Perkins. Yay. Alderman Vaughn.

Yay. All right. Thank you so much. Thank you for coming. All right. Now we'll go to the claims docket. Go ahead.

So move.

I have a second.

Second.

Thank you. Alderman Sistrunk. All right. If you would, please answer yay or nay as the city clerk calls your name.

Alderman Moreland.

Yay.

Alderman Sistrunk. Yay. Alderman Skinner. Yay. Alderman Brooks. Yay. Alderman Pocop. Yay. Vice Mayor Perkins. Nay. Alderman Vaughn.

Yay. All right. Motion carries.

And that takes us to executive session. Do I have a motion to... Thank you. I have a motion to go into closed session to determine the need for executive session. Do I have a second? Second. Second from Alderman Pocop. Oops, no. If you would, please answer. Yeah, your name is... Call your name.

Alderman Moreland. Yes. Alderman Sistrunk.

Absent.

Alderman Skinner.

Yes.

Alderman Brooks. Yes.

Yay.

Alderman Pocup? Yay. Vice Mayor Perkins? Yay. Alderman Vaughn?

Yay. All right. We have a vote to go into executive session, post-session, to determine the need for executive session. If you would, please clear the room.

Thank you so much.

Stacey Cobbins to transfer back to the manager position, which she had put in a request to do. So those are the two actions that were taken in executive session. So I need to read my calling of a work session, if y'all will indulge me for a moment. And according to the notice, it's required under this code annotated 2541.13. The board will have a work session on Friday, the 29th of May, 2026. at 11 a.m. That meeting will be held at City Hall's second floor conference room, which, by the way, it's going to be a good one. We're going to have a couple of things that will be interesting. Dr. McGee will make a presentation on the new high school, and then we will have a presentation on our sidewalk program. Notice should be provided at this work session within one hour of this meeting by posting such notice at City Hall. It should be made a part of the minutes of the board meeting. It will be an open public meeting of the City of Stark Republican Press are invited to attend. Do I have a motion in this case to adjourn? Second. I love how that second came so quick, but every time I needed a second only. Oh, no, I get it. Okay. Please answer. Yay or nay as the city clerk calls your name. Alderman Moreland.

Alderman Moreland.

Yay.

Alderman Sistrunk. Yay. Alderman Skinner. Yay. Alderman Brooks. Yay. Alderman Polkup. Yay. Vice Mayor Perkins. Yay. Alderman Vaughn. Yay.

All right.

Thank you, everyone. We are in a journey.