The Starkville Board of Aldermen passed a motion Tuesday to close streets for the Bulldog Bash Friday. The roads will now close at 10 a.m. to ease traffic for the upcoming concert, featuring the multi-platinum artist Edwin McCain. Student Association President Josh Blades presented the request.
Other business at the meeting included discussions on the continued improvements on Wood Street and concerns over problems with the new municipal budget.
In an earlier meeting, the board approved a 1 p.m street closure of University Drive to prepare for the Bulldog Bash concert.
Because the SA was later able to book McCain, Blades requested Tuesday that the street closure time be moved back to 10 a.m. The event organizers believed that the extra time would be needed to accommodate an artist of McCain’s stature.
With producing a bigger show, there is more responsibility, said Blades “We will need a bigger stage, bigger speakers and bigger lights. It takes a while to set up the stage.”
Starkville Police Chief David Lindley said that the police have coordinated plans with the affected merchants and residents. Police have decided to use barricades and traffic blocks to empty the street.
Alderman Roy Perkins expressed concern over the amount of litter the concert could possibly generate.
Travis Wolfe, one of the concert organizers, said that two more dumpsters and numerous trash containers were being brought in to reduce litter.
“We’re going to have a very large crowd,” Lindley said. “I think that everything is going to run smooth.”
The ongoing debate over the Wood Street renovation was discussed Tuesday as well. One new idea about creating sidewalks for one part of the street was mentioned.
Bill Webb, the Starkville development director, said that people are concerned over the lack of sidewalks on the west end of the street project. A new proposal was brought before the board that would create sidewalks for $2 per square foot using city labor or about $4 per square foot using contract labor.
Mayor Mack Rutledge said there was sufficient money in the Wood Street project budget to cover the costs, stressing the importance of completing the project before the construction season was over.
The measure passed with a 5-1 vote. Alderman Lee Beck dissented, while Alderman Frank Davis left the room and did not vote on the matter because of a conflict of interest.
Davis explained his reason for excusing himself from the room.
“My wife is one of the heirs to the property at Louisville and Wood Street,” Davis said. “Starkville was trying to get the family to give the city easement so that the road would have come eight feet from the house. In these certain situations, I recluse myself.”
Beck said he voted against the proposal because he believed the town had already spent over $700,000 on a street that is not widely used.
Concerns over the new city budget were addressed again Tuesday. Alderman P.C. McLaurin informed the board of the problems that have occurred while trying to balance the budget.
“We have a situation where we have a proposed budget that is imbalanced,” said McLaurin. “This is the most dismal budget exercise I had ever been through. The city’s budget is some three-quarters of a million out of balance.”
McLaurin said that the city now had insufficient money to fund all the requests from different departments. He regretted that he had to completely remove all capital improvements from the proposed budget for the next fiscal year.
The board voted to table the issue until a special budget meeting Sept. 29.