City leaders discuss plans for Starkville parks

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Starkville city leaders have wasted no time getting the ball rolling on plans for a new sports facility and improvements to existing parks.

A 1% hotel and restaurant tax that will provide money for the projects, passed by a wide margin last month, but there’s paperwork to do before dirt work can begin.

On Tuesday night, the mayor and board of aldermen are expected to start the first phase of the expansion and improvements.

Before they can start work, city leaders and builders need to know what they’re working with, that’s why they’re moving forward with a survey to get the lay of the land.

City leaders in Starkville are laying the groundwork to build a new tournament facility and improve their current parks.

“This is the first step that the board has taken. We obviously have been having conversations with some of our consultants and that sort thing, but in terms of board action, this is going to be the first action that we will have taken,” said Mayor Lynn Spruill.

A survey of the city’s Sportsplex, McKee Park and the future site of Cornerstone Park is that first step.

“The surveying work again, is just the in-field work that has to be brought back and put into drawings and then to take that and convert it into something that could happen, yeah, it could definitely take some time,” said Starkville’s assistant city engineer Cody Burnett.

“To make sure our fields have proper drainage, so we don’t have issues once we get the grass in and once we get the turf in, and just making sure that it’s right and that requires some technical expertise that I certainly don’t have, so you know, I need more than somebody just out there on a bulldozer, so we need that engineering work done.”

Burnett said the study should help head off potential problems down the road.

“Issues with drainage, the quality of the streets, you get those types of things, so planning ahead of time, gives you a good vision of what it will look like and sure you can’t get it perfect every time, but you can get really close and so it will just provide a factor of safety to the taxpayers and the people using the park in the future.”

Improved parks and new recreation opportunities were part of Mayor Lynn Spruill’s platform when she was elected two years ago.

She said it’s wonderful to see it all becoming a reality, and she thanks the voters who made it possible.

“This element to a park and proving what we have and doing this sports tournament facility, so that we can have wonderful recreational activities for our kids during the week and attract people from all over the state on the weekend.”

Neel-Schaffer will be the engineers over the survey project.

It’s expected to cost around $32,000.