The Starkville Board of Aldermen recently issued $15 million to park projects.
The new park projects are set to include the complete reconstruction of one existing park and the expansion of others in Starkville. These upgrades will provide new opportunities for outdoor activities.
Mayor Lynn Spruill expects the park projects to expand the use of local parks and recreation.
“Starkville residents can expect vastly improved park facilities that will serve them in previously underserved ways, as well as provide new, improved aspects of parks that will be added to existing features,” Spruill said.
Mayor Spruill said Starkville parks are growing in popularity and require an increase in budget.
“We are increasing the footprint of the parks and are providing additional programming, and costs for basic operations have escalated dramatically over the past two years, from personnel costs to gas and equipment purchase, maintenance and repairs,” Spruill said.
Alderman Jeffrey Rupp emphasized the planning of a variety of new Starkville ballparks.
“I am part of Starkville’s booming tennis/pickleball community and have been very involved in what the future of those sports looks like in Starkville. I’m even overseeing a team of graduate students doing specific research on pickleball facilities for the city,” Rupp said. “The projects range from new play areas for children to pickleball courts.”
According to Rupp, the park expansions will bring in an influx of new visitors to Starkville and a return on the investment in recreation.
“The biggest windfall will be from Cornerstone Park when it’s completed in a couple of months. The ball fields will literally bring hundreds of visitors to the city generating quite a bit of economic churn through hotel bookings, restaurants, etc. I believe you’ll also see improvements in the quality of life for residents of all ages with the improved facilities,” Rupp said.
Rupp said that past developments in biking and walking trails have been successful and that park upgrades are a good use of public funds.
While the city government approves of the issuance of these funds, one student pushed back against the idea of putting $15 million towards parks alone. Callie Kimbrell, a sophomore sociology major, said there are other concerns besides the expansion of parks.
“I think there are so many things this city could spend $15 million on, and I don’t know if parks should be the top priority. $15 million could help the livelihood of many community members, plus our roads are not great. There are potholes, missing sidewalks and a lack of city development,” Kimbrell said.
Kimbrell argued that there are other ways to bring in money and visitors to the city while providing for the community.
“We could be bringing in more businesses to stimulate the economy; I don’t think ballparks are going to help the people in this community that are in poverty,” Kimbrell said.
Kimbrell said recent years have seen issues for Starkville residents in low-income neighborhoods, such as the mass evictions in north Starkville in August of last year.
“Not long ago, there were mass evictions in a low-income neighborhood in Starkville. These people need help, they need jobs, they need the support of the community and most of those people are not the ones you are going to see playing frisbee golf in the park,” Kimbrell said.
Kimbrell said Starkville is developing quickly but may not be developing in a way to support citizens in need.
“Honestly, there is nothing wrong with a nice park or two, but $15 million could be going towards the health of humanity and developing our broken infrastructure,” Kimbrell said. “We already have so many local ballparks as it is, let’s prioritize those in need.”
Skateboarders have turned an old basketball court at Moncrief Park into a makeshift skate park. City officials believe that the investment in recreation will bring more visitors to Starkville.
