Board of Aldermen - Regular Meeting

3:26 – 3:45•SSSandra C. Sistrunk

Let us pray. Loving God, we welcome your grace to sustain us through the challenges, hard moments, and stresses of our day. Grant us the inner strength we need for this day and grant us your wisdom for the decisions and choices before us. Amen.

4:19 – 4:37•RPRoy A'. Perkins

Thank you, Mayor. Mayor, under the agenda Roman Emerald 10 Board Business Item A, updating discussion of a code enforcement matter in the Roland Hill subdivision, I have been fully briefed on that matter, and I do not see any need from my perspective to proceed with that matter. I'd like for it to be removed from the agenda, please, Mayor.

4:47•KSKyle Skinner

No, ma'am. Thank you. Alderman Brooks? No, ma'am. Thank you.

14:41•WPWilliam Pochop

I do. One thing. Thank you to Chris, our city engineer. We had a question today and he was Johnny on the spot getting that attended to. So thanks for that.

14:56•WPWilliam Pochop

There was questions about some construction at the corner of Montgomery and 182, and he went out there and looked at it and solved it in about, I don't know, five minutes or a couple hours. I left, but he was fantastic, so I appreciate it.

18:23 – 19:45•HVHenry N. Vaughn, Sr.

Our greeting to the mayor and board of my name is Alvin Turner Ward 7. And to the mayor, to the police chief, to the fire chief, to the sanitation, and to our NACP president, Reverend Jerry Jefferson. On behalf of Reverend Jefferson, I would like to thank the mayor for coming to our banquet and making us feel like that we can get back into the fight. Because a lot of negativity, it really takes its toll on us. But thank you, Mayor, for giving us some hope and giving us that where we need to get back in the game. Because with these evil days that we live, we want to try to stay on point. To the

20:41 – 21:18•HVHenry N. Vaughn, Sr.

My name is Alvin once again. We hope that people still is up in arms about the cost of new schooling and they are being very vague about it. And we're just hoping that this is to keep the city running and not to put more burdens on what we don't know about the cost and what the new school is going to put us through.

29:36 – 30:17•SSSandra C. Sistrunk

I have just a couple of questions for Daniel. So there's no need to include the hours of operations because those are controlled by other ordinances. And so any event has to end before 10 o'clock. Yes. Okay. So that you say several times in the staff report that you cannot conclude. whether or not this should be approved. Is that sort of a hazy way of saying that you recommend we deny it or you just don't have enough information to make a decision one way or the other?

30:29•SSSandra C. Sistrunk

It's going to be hard. It's going to be hard.

30:36•SSSandra C. Sistrunk

So by our codes and our standards, there's sufficient parking.

30:55 – 31:09•SSSandra C. Sistrunk

Right. Okay. Okay. So you can absolutely suggest that we deny it, but just based on your observation, parking is going to be an issue.

47:59 – 48:22•WPWilliam Pochop

First of all, that was thorough. So I know y'all have put a lot of time into mapping this out and to trying to create something that I don't think otherwise exists in that area specifically. Do you know of any other programs like the ones that you have mentioned that exist in our area right now? Okay. Are there any other areas like this in our downtown corridor?

48:26 – 48:40•WPWilliam Pochop

Okay. Does the owner of that space have any other plans that you know of? No, not that I know of. Okay. It's been vacant for how many years? Okay. Did y'all consider any alternative locations?

49:15•SSSandra C. Sistrunk

So your traffic plan, it appears to be more a suggestion than a requirement?

49:44•SSSandra C. Sistrunk

And how do you ensure that they adhere to this?

50:03•SSSandra C. Sistrunk

And you will ask that they move that parking lot and move to our station?

50:50 – 51:12•SSSandra C. Sistrunk

Okay. And will this be applicable to the other programming, the summer events that you talked about? Yes, ma'am. So even though those hours don't necessarily conflict with the grill, you're still going to just... keep people adjusting to the idea that they need to park elsewhere and walk in.

1:14:43 – 1:15:10•SSSandra C. Sistrunk

I mean, I have a question for Mr. Um, if could you go back to the slide that showed us the minimum parking requirements. And that's 106 total? And Mr. Bean says that by his count, there are 85 spaces there.

1:15:32•SSSandra C. Sistrunk

You stand by the fact that there is sufficient minimal parking?

1:15:49 – 1:19:00•SSSandra C. Sistrunk

I'd like to say that a lot of this does seem to center on parking. And unfortunately, as we become a more urban area and businesses and people are... in denser situations, then parking will be a problem no matter what. It is unfortunate, but I would prefer not to have huge parking lots in our downtown core area because that's not exactly the highest and best use of that space. It could be much better used in terms of city benefit by having businesses and residences and that sort of thing. I will say that in following up with the city engineer's department, that they're in front of Fire Station

1:19:48 – 1:20:18•SSSandra C. Sistrunk

I'm going to do this on principle because the votes are there to have I counted to four the votes are there to deny the motion so I'm going to do this on principle and I'm going to say yay because I do think it's appropriate to have this kind of business in that location and that parking can be managed but So you're saying, but you're saying... I'm saying nay. Nay. Okay. Thank you. Sorry. I got myself confused. I told you I wasn't sure how I wanted to vote.

1:21:14•RPRoy A'. Perkins

Mayor, thank you for the recognition. I heard you said the brief comments. I'm going to give whatever comments I desire.

1:21:23 – 1:24:24•RPRoy A'. Perkins

Oh, I'm sorry. Excuse me. I'm sorry. But I'm going to be brief anyway on it. Mayor, let me, and to my distinguished colleagues, let me say very briefly, I want to say this very humbly, respectfully, and professionally. And I left this matter on the agenda for a very important point that I would like to respectfully make. I just want to take this moment of privilege to clearly articulate that whenever there is any desire and proposal to close a fire station, or any other building or structure with the intent to cease city functions and to move that operations into another building. It is very i

1:24:48 – 1:25:21•RPRoy A'. Perkins

Thank you, Mayor. I appreciate the continuous recognition. I'm going to be very brief on this matter, and I'm just going to go ahead and make the motion, Mayor. The Vice Mayor moves for the adoption of a resolution to lower the millage rate of the City of Starkville downward. from 34.0 mils and to reset the millage to 28.69 mils effective fiscal year 2027. I yield, Mayor. Thank you.

1:25:35 – 1:26:00•KSKyle Skinner

Uh, vice mayor, hey, I'm on board, I'd love to cut taxes and. You know, I think it would help the city, but I need to know where this is going to come from. That doesn't affect public safety because. Our citizens deserve to be safe, but also there's 30,000 students out there that their parents in here because they know they're going to be safe. So, I need to know what we're going to cut to get down there.

1:26:16 – 1:26:42•RPRoy A'. Perkins

If this motion is adopted, it is my very respectful request and desire for the budget committee to reconvene and come up with a budget that is consistent with the 28.69 mills and bring it back to this board for study, consideration, and approval. Thank you.

1:26:48 – 1:28:27•SSSandra C. Sistrunk

And I would just like to say that I think it's premature to talk about an amount of millage that will be set because we don't know where those cuts are likely to come from. Typically in the budget process, you develop a list of the proposed expenditures. You know what that number is. You make estimates about your revenues outside of the property taxes and You make an estimate of all those revenues. You subtract the revenues from the expenses. You take the balance. You divide it by the value of a mill, and that's how you set your millage rate. So to try to set millage without having that other