Video: Starkville Is Looking To Expand

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Starkville is looking to grow its city limits.

Starkville city leaders approved an agreement with Slaughter and Associates to do an annexation study.

The study would be the first step of a possible annexation for the town.

A 4 to 2 vote approved the exploration study in Tuesday’s mayor and board of aldermen meeting.

The study will look at areas with the most growth and retail potential that can benefit the city.

Starkville hasn’t expanded its borders since 1998.

The Slaughter and Associates study will focus on areas that experts believe would be growth areas for the city.

“You determine your study area and then you look and see what is incorporated in that area, you know, is it business? Is it residential? How much of the services do they currently have, and how much are they going to need, and what’s going to take to give them those services? So, you’ve got to make a fiscal determination. I think you’ve got to make a social determination. You’ve got to make a population determination,” says Mayor Lynn Spruill.

The last annexation brought several undeveloped areas into the city, but Mayor Lynn Spruill says the strategy this time is different.

The plan focuses on taking in areas already fully occupied with businesses and residential areas.

One possible area, is located along Highway 1-82, and could include Starkville Ford and several apartment complexes.

“You have a large urban type of area that is benefiting from being near the city, but without paying the taxes that would come with the city, so I think that’s an appropriate, one of the criteria, that you look at when you get ready to annex.”

Mayor Spruill says if they move forward, she envisions the college town’s population jumping to over 30,000.

If that were to happen, it would put Starkville within the top ten cities of Mississippi, making it more desirable to outside investment.

“It gets those other retail, it gets other places to be able to look at you more seriously and see that they may have a market there, that they could come into, and to me, that is one of the strategic advantages of wanting to increase our population size, is to be more attractive for other retail and restaurant types of establishments,” says Starkville District 4 Alderman, Jason Walker.

Leaders say if the annexation happens, they would like to get it done before the 2020 Census comes out.

Mayor Spruill also says the city and MSU have discussed the possibility of the university becoming a part of the city.

MSU and Ole Miss are the only two Mississippi colleges not a part of its cities.