Board of Aldermen - Regular Meeting

live for our meeting, recess meeting of September the 15th. We will begin our meeting. I'll call it to order. We'll stand for a Pledge of Allegiance followed by an invocation for Alderman Sistrock.

Let us pray. Loving God, we give thanks for the opportunity to serve our community. Grant us the wisdom needed for our responsibilities and for the decisions and choices before us. Help us not to carry the burden of outcomes, but to focus on our best intentions. Amen.

All right, thank you, everyone. We appreciate you being here this evening. Our first order of business will be to approve the official agenda with the consented items, unless there are some changes. Alderman Vaughn, any changes? No, ma'am. Thank you, Mayor. Vice Mayor Perkins?

No, ma'am, Mayor. Thank you.

Alderman Polka?

No, ma'am. Thank you.

Alderman Scanlon?

No, Mayor. Thanks.

Alderman Sistrock? No, ma'am. Thank you. And Alderman Moore? No, Mayor. Thank you. All right, there are no changes. I need a motion for the official agenda with the consented items. Make a motion to approve. All right. Thank you all. Moran, do I have a second?

Second.

Second from Moran. Poco. All those in favor, please signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Opposed? All right. And I will read the consented items. First, we have the minutes, which is number one, consideration of the minutes of the August 25th, 2026 special call meeting of the mayor and board of aldermen of the city of Starkville. Two is consideration of the minutes of the August 28th, 2026 work session of the mayor and board of aldermen of the city of Starkville. And three is consideration of the minutes of the September 1, 2026 regular meeting of the mayor and board of aldermen of the city of Starkville. Under mayor's business, we have consideration of the approval of crossing easements for across the rail spur to southwire for connection to cc clark road for use in the southwire expansion these easements will serve as the city's authorization for southwire to use city-owned property for railroad for roadway crossing the spur under board business item one is consideration of reallocating the remaining 2025-2026 budget of 5 250 authorized to the startle area out arts council funding to the Starkville Community Theater to assist with matching grant funding for the facade improvement of the exterior of the building. Under the airport, we have request approval of the lowest quote for a sliding gate controller and accessories to be installed at the south entrance of the parking lot from All Star Fence LLC in the amount of $6,386. Under engineering, we have one consideration of approving permission to apply for funding from the 2026 Trees Across America, TAM Urban and Community Forestry Grant Program. Two is consideration of approving Neal Schaefer, Inc. as the preferred consultant to provide construction, engineering, and inspection services for the Safe Streets for All, SS4A, Highway 12, and Garrard Road roundabout project. And three is request authorization to enter into agreement with an independent contractor, Mike Noel, to serve as an engineering inspector for the engineering department for six months with an option to renew for an additional term of up to one year. Under finance administration, we have request acceptance of the August 2026 financial statements of the city of Starkville. Two is request acknowledgement of privilege licenses issued by the City Clerk's Office for the month of August 2026 by the Board in accordance with Mississippi Code 27-17-501. Three is request approval of the 2026 Municipal Compliance Questionnaire. Four is request consideration of adopting a capital asset and depreciation policy for the City of Starkville. Under Human Resources, we have number one, which requests approval to reimburse Stephen Kackelman for tuition expenses. Two is request authorization to hire Carl Kelly as grounds technician one, landscaping in the Sanitation and Environmental Services Department. Three is request authorization to hire Sebastian Bourgeois as police officer pre-academy in the Starkville Police Department. Four is request authorization to hire Yolanda Kennedy-Lewis as a temporary commercial driver in the Sanitation and Environmental Services Department. Five is request authorization to designate Allison Smith as a dispatcher tactical officer in the Police Department. Six is request authorization of the transfer of Jessica Colvin, Deputy Court Clerk part-time, to the position of Deputy Court Clerk full-time in the Municipal Court Department. And seven is request authorization of the salary adjustment of Hunter Rowe Brown, Systems Administrator in the Information Technology Department. Under Parks, we have one, consideration of approving the cooperative agreement with Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA, for the Cornerstone Arboretum. Under Police, we have request approval For out-of-state travel to attend one day of training at the U.S. Marshals Training Facility in Birmingham, Alabama on October 1, 2026, the cost training will be fuel for travel. Under code enforcement, we have Mississippi Code... Number one, Mississippi Code Annotated 21-1911 Sub 2 and as adopted by the City of Stark with 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 the public health, safety, and welfare of the community and are therefore placed on the property mowing cleanup list. That would be 106 Ernest H. Jones Jr. Drive, 107 Rex Street, and 109 Fieldgate Drive. Under sanitation, we have one request approval to purchase five front loader containers from Plum Creek at the source of supply bid price for a total cost of $6,475. And in the utilities department, we have request approval of a lease agreement with C Spire for a Cisco WebEx cloud-hosted phone system for the low quote price of $1,084.50 per month. And that concludes the consent agenda items. Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

I'm happy to do that.

right um next item we go to is under mayor's comments and i have several things that i noted as i was coming in and mr kemp you can correct me if i'm if i do this incorrectly but apparently we've got a street closing of os point road from 182 pretty much to crite street from a from a detour standpoint on Thursday starting at 9 30. Is that accurate? We have a water leak that we've got to address.

And it also is only going to impact the northern part of that intersection, so they will remain east-west traffic through that intersection, to my understanding, based on what we currently plan to right now, as well as going south to all the northwest

Okay, and we don't know quite how far it goes. So that's the reason for the extension of the length of that. Yes Okay. All right. So we've put it out. We've put it out on social. I did see that I just had a question. Is the repair you said on water repair on Old West Point?

It is. It's for a water line that is paralleling Highway 182.

I saw it on Nextdoor. I just thought I'd go ahead and mention it while we were talking about things. So, okay. Thank you. And then we've got for our skate park, we've got a public input session for those of you who are skate park aficionados for the one that we're going to be constructing. We want to hear from those who use it or have some input. It is going to be on... September the 30th at 530 at the Travis Outlaw Center. So, you know, if you want to come let us know what you think about all the things that go in skate parks, please do so. I'm looking forward to hearing from some folks who actually use them and don't have any broken limbs, which is what I foresee coming up. I was kidding. I was kidding. Everybody's going to have a good time on it. All right. So next we have introductions. And before we do introductions... Before we say hello, I want to say goodbye. So, Steve McMullen, are you in the back back there somewhere? Yeah, you are. Stand up. So, Mr. McMullen, this is his last board meeting with us. He has chosen to retire, though I tried my best to keep him here, but he has put in essentially 30 years. Started with the fire department. 1996 and he is going to be retiring as of the end of this month and so I want to address that with his exemplary to use one of the vice mayor's words frequently his exemplary service to our city in the capacity as a fireman and firefighter and then up the ranks in that position and then as the building inspector for the for the city of Starkville. He has been an incredible asset and I am very sorry to see him go but delighted for his next phase which I think is something he's looking forward to but he will be greatly missed so I wanted to acknowledge you for this board meeting so thank you for your service. Hello to some folks. So I'm excited about this, too. This is always fun. All right. So first we have these folks are all for utility. So, Mr. Kemp, come on up here. And Mr. Grantham, you are first and up and up first. In large part, you're a returning employee and we're delighted to see you. A long lineage of city people. of Starkville Public Servants, and that would be your dad as the fire chief.

Yes, ma'am, that is correct.

I had the pleasure of serving with him when I was as the CAO. And so did I. I'm sorry?

And so did I.

And so did the vice mayor, and we think highly of Chief Renfrew.

Thank you.

Pass that along, please. And Shane is returning to us as the billing manager. He's originally from Starkville. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Mississippi State University. He is dedicated to serving the customers of Starkville utilities. He's been married for over 27 years to Jenny, and they have three children, Tristan, Jace, and Carson, and outside of work, he enjoys spending time with family, and I hope he's not successful at the deer hunting portion of his recreational activities, but it's a pleasure to have you, and welcome back.

Glad to be back. Thank you.

Next, we have Mike Jones. He joined Stark Utilities as the assistant general manager. Originally from West Point, Mike earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Mississippi State. He received his certification as a power executive from TVA Public Power Association. He is married for over 32 years to Shannon and has two children, Alex and Andrew, and two dogs. And outside of work, he enjoys bicycling, hiking, and doing carpentry work. Welcome, we're delighted to have you.

Glad to be here.

Roche. She joined Starkville Utilities as a customer service representative, originally from Stantonville, Tennessee. Where's Stantonville?

You ever heard of Shallow National Military Park? It's just right next door. Okay, all right.

You're a graduate of Adamsville High School. She is excited about meeting and working with the residents of Starkville and has been married for over four years to Jeremy and his four children, Riley, Mallory, Dawson and Megan, and a 10-year-old lab retriever named Max. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her 11 grandchildren. So, happy to have you. Thanks so much. And next we have Hayden McKee. Hayden joined Starkville Utilities as an inventory control technician. Originally from Brandon, Mississippi, he earned a bachelor's degree in general science from Mississippi State University. Over the past three years, he has proudly served in the Mississippi Army National Guard. Thank you for your service. He's attained the rank of second lieutenant. He loves Starkville and wants to increase his knowledge of the city operations. He has a border collie and outside of work, he enjoys attending and volunteering at First Baptist Church, Starkville, exercising and playing basketball, and we're delighted to have him. All right, and last but not least is Eliah Clark. He joined Starkville Utilities as an apprentice two lineman, originally from Euporo. Eliah earned an associate's degree in electrical line work from East Mississippi Community College. He earned an OSHA 10 certification, CPR certification, and 80-foot pole climbing rescue. Cool. He has a son named Xavier and one dog. Outside of work, he enjoys hunting, fishing, and mechanic work. So welcome to Starkville.

Glad to be here. Thank you.

And that ends my little spiel. Alderman Vaughn, anything you'd like to share?

No, ma'am, ma'am. Thank you.

Vice Mayor Perkins?

No, ma'am, ma'am. Thank you.

Alderman Polkup?

No, ma'am. Thank you.

Alderman Skinner? No, ma'am. Alderman Sister? No, ma'am. Thank you. Alderman Moore? No, ma'am. Thank you. All right. Thank you, then. All right. So next up, we have citizens' comments. This is an opportunity for anyone wishing to provide us some feedback. We take note and then try to act on it appropriately. Mr. Turner, always lovely to see you.

All right, good evening to the mayor and board. My name is Alvin Turner Ward 7. I rise to the mayor, to the police chief, to the fire chief, to the sanitation, and to our NACP president, Dr. Jerry Jefferson. And I'll be leaving after my comments. We have a town meeting at 7 o'clock. A lot of people upset about the taxes and all, but anyway, they want some answers. But we have one little problem. The people slow down at the police department to stop signs, but they... go through the stop sign at the next intersection. It's getting kind of dangerous for the pedestrians because they stop at the police department because they don't know where the police are. But the next intersection, they kind of like it. If they don't see the police, they'll go through it.

I don't normally answer the phone while we're at a board meeting, but I have Alderman Brooks on the phone. So, Alderman Brooks, are you there? All right. We will note that you are in the meeting for the moment, if you would please. I don't know how long you can stay with us, but I'm going to put you up here near the mic. Is that okay? That sounds great. Thank you. All right. Thank you so much. We appreciate you calling in. Just to keep you up, we just finished with – well, we didn't finish. Do we have anyone else who wishes to speak during citizens' comments? Anyone else? Anyone else? All right, seeing none, I will close it for citizens' comments. And we will go to public hearings. And this is our second public hearing in consideration to adopt a chronic nuisance property ordinance. We had our last one. At the last board meeting, we had our first one, I'm sorry, at the last board meeting, and this one would be the opportunity for the board to adopt it after I open as a public hearing. Any comments from the board before I do so? Any comments from the board? All right, I'm going to open this as a public hearing. Anyone wishing to speak to this matter now would be your opportunity. This is, again, to adopt a chronic nuisance property ordinance, which is essentially the ordinance that would... address frequent occurrences of criminal activity or things that are occurring on properties with regularity that is drawing a large portion of our police presence or creating an issue with irregular problems from that property. So we are trying to see what we can do to address that and this is the intention of that ordinance. Anyone wishing to speak to it now would be the time. Either for or against. Yes, ma'am, you need to come up. Ma'am, you need to come up.

Y'all can't hear me from here?

You need me to come up. You need you to come up. Okay. And I need your name so we'll know who's talking to us, okay? All right.

I'm Rose Evans.

Ms. Evans, okay.

And you were speaking about the nuisance with the property. I was speaking on the one in Brooksville Gardens.

Well, this is about any chronic nuisance to property. Yes, ma'am.

Well, this is the one I'm talking about in particular. Could you all get any more police officers to patrol the area a little bit more? Or would that be a problem or something?

This is an opportunity for you to talk to us, and we will listen to you, and then we'll take that into consideration.

And it is a poll. Right there by my house. My house is the last brick house on the end. At the top of the hill. Black brick house. I was asking could you all put a sign up. No loud music. When entering. Or coming in or coming out. We need a sign up saying that. If that can be done. And we also need some patrol officers. Some officers just to patrol. a little bit often if we can get that done. If we can get that done, I think it'll stop a lot of it. I really do.

Thank you, Ms. Adams. Anyone else wishing to speak under the public hearing? Anyone else? Seeing none, I will close it as a public hearing. Do I have any comments from board members? Any comments from board members? No. Alderman's is strong.

I'd like to just say that the purpose of this ordinance is to try to ensure that rental properties are a safe living environment, a comfortable living environment for residents who've chosen to be here in Starkville. It's a multi-step process that a facility would go through before there's any intervention by the city, the very first first thing, if there is a determination that they might be a nuisance property, the very first thing they will receive is a warning and they will have an opportunity to enter into a corrective agreement as a result of that warning. The enforcement steps up a bit if there's neither any response nor any attempt to abate the problem that's going on. And it ultimately ends up as a legal issue. But it's something that I think needs to happen because we do want to be sure that people have a safe environment in which to live. And so I will make the motion that we approve the ordinance.

Okay, I have a motion from Alderman Sistrom to approve the chronic nuisance property ordinance, and that is due to the issues that we have, the safety issues related to the properties that are on occasion a problem.

The things that were outlined in the ordinance, all the issues that were outlined in the ordinance.

I have a motion. Do I have a second? Second. Okay. I'm checking from Alderman Morland. Okay. Alderman Skinner, I see you. Would you like to make comments?

I've had a couple calls from a couple landlords, and they just wanted to make sure that this isn't going to turn into like a code enforcement thing. And I told them everything that I had read, it was more criminal, but I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

Well, code enforcement is called out in this, but that would be a matter of it being a continuing problem.

Right. Yeah, he just didn't want it to be like if there's, I mean, they...

It's not a tall grass thing. Right. Okay. Yeah.

Okay.

All right. Other comments? All right. I have a motion and a second, and we will have to do a roll call vote based on our absentee person. Mr. Brooks, are you there and you can hear? Yes. Okay. All right. If you would, please ask yay or nay as the city clerk calls your name.

Alderman Baum.

Yay.

Vice Mayor Perkins.

Yay.

Alderman Pezor.

Yay.

Alderman Brooks.

Yay.

Alderman Skinner.

Yay.

Alderman sister.

Yay.

Yay.

All right. It is unanimous. And in accordance with that, thank you all on Brooks. And in accordance with that, the, uh, um, ordinance can become effective immediately based on the public safety. Um, are you going to stay with us? Alderman Brooks.

All right.

All right. Well, thank you. Thank you for calling in. Safe travels.

Thank you.

Bye-bye. All right. You can show him as absent. I believe Olin Vaughn is also left, so nobody else gets to go. I need to keep a quorum. All right. Next, we have a second public hearing consideration to amend the Leisure and Recreation District Ordinance to include specific language requiring date-specific stickers, and to expand the district map. Any conversation from the board before I open it as a public hearing? All right. Seeing none, I'll open this as a public hearing. This is fairly simple. We have a new map, and then we also have a requirement of stickers that are to go on the cups so that they're easily identified by the police officers and those working the district and working the entertainment area. Okay. If anyone wishes to speak to this ordinance, now would be your time. Either yay or nay. Anyone wishing to speak to this ordinance? Four against. All right. Seeing none, I will close it as a public hearing. Do I have a motion? I have a motion from Alderman Moreland. Do I have a second?

Second.

Second from Alderman Poco. Any discussion? Any discussion? All right. Seeing none, all those in favor? Yep, we're good. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed?

Nay.

Okay, that would be four to one, I believe. All right, thank you. And motion carries. All right, next we have consideration of pay raises for all departments effective October 2, 2026. Do I have a motion for this?

I'd like to move approval of this. And what this does is it distributes the general fund monies that were approved during the budget process and then the other fund monies that were approved during the budget process.

Okay, so I have a motion. Do I have a second? Second. Second from Alderman Moore. Discussion? Anyone? Discussion? All right. Seeing none, if you would please, let's do a roll call. I'm not sure how this is going to play out. So if you would please answer yay or nay as the city clerk calls your name.

Vice Mayor Perkins.

Nay.

Alderman Pocop.

Yay.

Alderman Skinner.

Yay.

Alderman Sistrom.

Yay.

Alderman Moreland. Yay.

All right. Motion carries. Thank you. All right. Claims do I have a motion?

Move approval.

Motion from Alderman Polk. Do I have a second? Second. Second from Alderman Moreland. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed?

Nay.

All right. Thank you. And next we have Sanitation Department. So this is consideration of adopting new commercial sanitation rates and fees effective November 1, 2026. I'm not quite sure. I did not get to the... I didn't watch all the way through the work session, so I'm not quite sure what was discussed. Do I have a motion?

I move approval.

Okay, I have a motion from Alderman Sistron. Do I have a second? Second. Second from Alderman Moreland. Discussion? Any discussion? All right, seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed?

Nay.

All right, motion carries. And then utilities department. So we have consideration of a 2% electric rate increase for fiscal year 26-27, fiscal year 27-28, and fiscal year 28-29, effective 11-1-26, 11-1-27, and 11-2-28, respectively. Do I have a motion?

We'll move approval.

I have a motion from Alderman Sistrom. Second. Second from Alderman Moreland. Discussion? Very much needed. Do you want to... You certainly are. Step right up there, Mr. Kemp. All right. Any... And he just, yes, owns his truck. As long as he's here, you might as well.

I'm going to let him do this, but I'm going to say that while it does work out to a roughly 2% increase, in terms of what you will see on your bill, it looks a little different than just a 2%. For residential customers, there's a $2 a month increase and then something like one-tenth of a percent of utilization fees, so it's pennies, pennies on the dollar. For the average customer, I think it's about $2.05. $2.08. $2.08. So close. So that's the math of that. The commercial side is much more complicated in that they pay based on when they're using it, peak seasons, those sorts of things. And so there is a chart that will be part of my motion that we approve the rates as outlined in the chart.

I think it's also worth noting that we have not had a local rate increase since 2016. So you have held the line and your predecessor, your dad, held the line as well and still achieved great things with the substation, the Southwest substation and all of that, but Clearly, in 10 years, it is time because the costs have just gone up dramatically. So anyway, I want to just say thank you for having taken those steps to do that. But at some point, we've got to say it's time. So I have a motion and a second. Any other discussion? Any other discussion? All right. Seeing none, all those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed?

Nay.

All right motion carries, and that takes us to the end of the agenda. And with that, allow me to read the call for the work session. Um, in accordance with the notice is required on code annotate 2541, 13, the board will have a work session on Friday, the 2nd of October, 2026 at 11 a.m. That meeting will be held city hall 2nd for conference room located at 110 West main. Notice should be provided at this work session within one hour of this meeting. By posting such notice at City Hall, the notice should be made a part of the minutes of the board meeting. Work session will be an open public meeting of the City of Starkville. Public press are invited to attend. And I would entertain a motion to adjourn. Motion to adjourn. I have a motion from Alderman Warren to adjourn. A second from Alderman Polkup. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? All right. We are in adjournment. Thank you, everyone.