After listening for two hours to the questions being read and the answers or responses being given by either the mayor, vice-mayor, either of the two aldermen present, and members of the Citizen’s Committee (…I say answers OR responses because in my opinion not all responses were answers to the specific questions being asked…as is often typical of politicians when being questioned!), I was actually listening for one important question and for its important answer. I never heard the question; therefore, I never heard the answer.
Following the closing of the meeting with prayer, I decided to bite the bullet and pose my question directly to the mayor, believing that given the proper answer to my question, I would be in a better position to make a more reasoned decision when I cast my ballot on Tuesday, September 27, 2011.
So I approached the mayor and when he acknowledged me, I stated that I had a question for him that I had not heard asked or answered. “Mr. Mayor, after listening carefully to all of the questions and responses and specifically to those responses to the questions regarding that which will come AFTER Phase I of the Master Plan, hearing phrases such as: ‘we are not discussing that yet as Phase I is what we are looking at first’; ‘we don’t want to talk about further plans until we get Phase I, the building of the Police Department’, my question is…assuming that the bond issue is passed… when the City is ready to proceed to the next level of this Master Plan, can you assure the citizens of Starkville that the remaining implementation of this Master Plan will come before the Starkville citizens for a vote and not just be implemented on the coattail of the Phase 1 vote?
I explained that I was not speaking for the Starkville Tea Party, but rather, as a Starkville citizen, and that I, for one, am of the opinion that the actions of our city officials remind me too much of what we hear and see coming out of DC...specifically: ‘We have to pass the bill so we can see what is in the bill.’)
The mayor’s response in my opinion was evasive, not at all convincing or satisfying to me. He skirted the issue, explaining that ‘we’ won’t know how we will fund the next phase until we ‘get’ to that point…after getting the Police Department and being ready to go further. The answer I was looking for and did not get was a simple, straightforward answer, such as, “Absolutely! Since Starkville citizens (property owners, in particular) will have to foot the bill for each phase of this Master Plan, OF COURSE, THEY will be given their proper voice!”
Following his response to my legitimate question of concern, the mayor then stated his assurance that there was no ‘trickery’ involved in the way this was being handled…to which I replied, “I wish I could believe that to be the truth.” ‘Trickery’ was his word…not mine! Now, I am even more concerned!
I agree with the majority of Starkville’s citizens that the housing of our SPD is a disgrace and needs to be addressed and remedied. I’m not convinced however that a vote for the Phase I bond issue will not be interpreted as a vote for the entire Master Plan. In view of Starkville Police Department’s need for adequate facilities, is it possible that Phase I of the Master Plan is being presented strongly and at great cost to an unidentified group so as to follow through with the remainder of the Master Plan more easily?
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