The Belfry

Russell Street in Ward 4 has been the center of a lot of proposed development. Ergon, The Village, the changes make to LaGallaria Shopping Center to name a few. One of the proposed developments, The Village, went back to the drawing board for some revisions and is about to go before the Planning and Zoning Board. This development has the potential to change the very landscape around Russell Street and to add to the new urbanist concept that many of talked about for Starkville.

http://www.thebelfrystarkville.com

Sunday Alcohol Sales

Several months ago I had brought up the idea of allowing the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sunday in Starkville. There was a Starkville Daily News poll and a town hall meeting; however, the item was never brought to a vote by the board.

Recently some residents who want to see Sunday sales in Starkville have developed a released a website as part of an overall campaign. This website can be found at http://www.betterstarkville.com They also have plans to release fliers and table tents in bars throughout town.

Mayor Rupp Leaves Columbus for Mississippi State

At 9:00am this morning Mayor Jeffrey Rupp of Columbus resigned from his position to take a job working under Dr. "Doc" Fogelsong of Mississippi State University. Mr. Rupp's new title will be director of community and governmental affairs. The IHL board approved his hiring at a $100,000 /yr. salary. Rupp says that one of his main focuses will be in the area of economic development, a goal in line with Dr. Fogelsong.

Given Oktibbeha's need for additional economic development, particularly in the county, this could prove to be very beneficial to the MSU-Starkville-Oktibbeha community.

Commercial Dispatch Article

Citizen's Bank

Many of you driving now Highway 12 may have noticed a sign saying "Coming Soon Citizen's Bank" in front of the old, run down building that used to be Shoney's. The bank is now formally proceeding with the process of getting a new building there. They have submitted plans for the new building to the building department for review and approval by the department heads. Since the building is under 5,000 sq. ft. it will not require approval by our PNZ Board and Board of Aldermen.

Johnny Cash Festival

Some of you may have heard in the past talk about gathering support for a Johnny Cash Festival here in Starkville, MS. This is in part because the legend was inspired to write the song "Starkville City Jail" after he.... spent the night here.

One person who has been working hard on such a project is our own Daily Journal writer Robbie Ward. He managed to even secure the actual pair of shoes that Johnny Cash wore the night he was sent to our jail. Called the Johnny Cash Flower-Pickin' Festival, Robbie is looking at having it in Summer 2007. If you'd be interested in helping Robbie with this festival, please email him at robbieward1@hotmail.com

Highway 12 Old Burger King Location

Several folks have asked me if I knew what was going to become of the property over on Hwy. 12 where the Burger King used to be. In that lot, next to University Inn, is the old Burger King "cabin", Pizza Hut, movie theatre, and even a catfish shack, all of which have closed and been abandoned. The area had become very blighted looking which was unfortunate given its prime location directly on the highway and adjoining Mississippi State.

Upon contacting the realtor involved I learned that all of the property has since been sold to Nicholas Properties out of Jackson who are planning to develop the area with a new restuarant and shopping center. This early on I don't have any exact details to provide; however, I will be following up on this and providing more information as it is made available. The possiblity also exists that the old cabin will be purchased seperate from the property and moved from that location to another.

Mississippi Politics in a Nutshell

Richard W. Dortch, contributing columnist to the Clarion Ledger, wrote a rather thought provoking article on what he viewed as a conservative bias on the part of media in the state of Mississippi and politics in general in the state. He makes some excellent key points and I highly recommend this article to anyone willing to read it.

June 6th, 2006 Meeting

The agenda for the June 6th, 2006, has been posted on the city website and at five pages it looks to be a very long meeting indeed.

At that meeting, and soon on this blog, I will be giving a presentation on the results of the last meeting of the Technology Committee (which consists of myself, Alderman Davis, and Alderman Cox). I will be touching on the issue of a new city website with a presentation by web designer Patrick Miller from Milo Interactive and will also be proposing a cheaper hosting service for our website and updating everyone on the wireless internet initiative.

New Restuarant Coming to Town

Starkville will soon be receiving a new restuarant in the area, a fairly well known steakhouse called Doe's Eat Place. Located in Greenville, MS, and other locations in Arkansas, Doe's, will be a nice addition to the downtown area in Starkville. They plan to locate in what used to be an old theatre located on South Washington St., across from the pool hall by City Hall.

Follow up to University Dr. Development

I wasn't aware of this when I made my previous post, but there is now a website further outlining the development to take place on University Drive.

http://www.msstateside.com

The following is the master plan which outlines what the entire development will be like (click for a larger view):