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Mayor urges board to plan for future By SUE WATSON
Staff Writer A
windfall from participation in the refurbishing of Mississippi College
Apartments in North Holly Springs may be used by the City of Holly
Springs to plan for future economic growth and development. Mayor
Andre’ DeBerry outlined how the unexpected funds can be used to
position the city for future growth. He urged the board of aldermen to
use windfall money to update the city’s comprehensive plan and to hire
a consultant to help with strategic planning. Bob
Barber is the mayor’s choice for work on the comprehensive plan and Ken
Farrell is his choice as a consultant for strategic planning. DeBerry
said the money comes from working to transfer the MI Apartments from
HUD (Housing and Urban Development) to the city and then on to a
developer who will rebuild the apartments. Wishcamper Developers will
renovate the apartments and then manage them. The mayor said the
windfall will best be spent in Phase I planning, and during that phase
to secure funding for Phase II planning under contractual agreements
with Barber and Farrell. Some aldermen were
outspoken about hiring Farrell to work with the strategic plan because
he already has interests in developments on the south side of town.
They felt he could have a conflict of interest if he has business
interests here and also is hired to develop a strategic plan for the
city. However, aldermen were excited about the
idea of planning now for the city’s future growth with money not
obtained by taxing citizens. The mayor proposed
the Main Street Program be incorporated into the city’s comprehensive
plan as it is updated to implement some Main Street objectives - a
community field summary, downtown, traffic flow and parking and codes -
especially architectural controls. He said
federal programs are now requiring more information from governments in
proposals for funding. The data obtained by comprehensive planning and
strategic planning will help the city garner both federal dollars and
attract new industry and business, he said. The
city would invite the Marshall County Industrial Development Authority
and Marshall County to participate in some planning where the two
entities have common goals, he said. DeBerry said
governments today are having to identify supersites - locations where
several hundred acres are available for locating a large industry like
the Toyota plant - in order to be considered for large projects. He
said the Tennessee Valley Authority looks to governments who have done
needs assessments, strategic plans and who are looking for ways to
support supersites, projects the mayor would like to attract. Farrell would recommend a 15-point needs assessment for the city’s strategic plan. DeBerry
said obtaining designations and having plans in hand can help add
points and special considerations when grants and loans are being
considered by various agencies. He urged the board to act quickly to
use the windfall dollars to plan rather than roll the money into city
operations. “It will help get funding down the
road,” he said, “to prepare for expansion coming down Highway 78
(future Interstate 22). We’ve got to position ourselves to be ready,
to identify what our strategic needs are.” Alderman
Russell Johnson said finishing the north bypass and working with issues
of industrial development zones and covenants for development are
important considerations. “My main concern is the development of covenants as to what can go into commercial zones,” he said. DeBerry
agreed and added that some issues in PUDs (Planned Unit Developments)
on the south side of town have come up and it is important to look at
them in concert with the comprehensive plan and strategic plan for
development. “The other thing is utilities,” Johnson said. “How will they be involved in assuring infrastructure is there?” DeBerry
said Barber knows the technical level requirements and how to make
goals and assessments, while Farrell knows the needs of developers. Alderman Garrie Colhoun suggested the work could be done by one consultant. “Why would we need to have Ken Farrell and Bob Barber to do the same thing?” he asked. Attorney
Ki Jones said the strategic plan will tell where the city needs to go
while Barber’s work would be concerned with zoning ordinances and plans
and land use regulations. Colhoun questioned
Farrell’s development in Oxford, saying it failed to materialize and
the Holly Springs Commons has resulted in a strip mall that is half
occupied with tenants. “Why are we putting this kind of faith in Ken Farrell?” he asked. DeBerry
said Farrell and his partner Lance Forsdick had done what they said
they would do in Holly Springs and that Farrell had sold out his
interest in the Oxford Commons but is working on other large projects. “Farrell
came to us and did make it happen in Holly Springs - a development that
is a major economic anchor in this town,” DeBerry said. “Walmart is
part of the whole piece. He divested himself with Oxford.” Alderman
Calvin James asked if the strategic plan would address rerouting of
heavy truck traffic away from downtown which, he said, tends to choke
traffic flow. “Barber does this,” DeBerry said. The
mayor then offered a story of how Tupelo became a major municipality in
Mississippi while Corinth did not grow, all because Tupelo planned for
growth by building streets before the city needed them and thus
directed its growth. “I believe the county needs
to be involved because you have dirt, gravel, large trucks going
through residential areas,” James said. “This
plan will be inclusive of other stakeholders in the city who we ask to
bring money to the table,” DeBerry said. “Doctors, school systems,
childcare – these people need to be on board. I say, take a gift (the
windfall) and use it for the long-range good of the city.” Johnson
said the city needs to look for jobs that arise from developments like
Chickasaw Trail, power plants, the north Holly Springs bypass. “They will generate high quality jobs and we need to tap into that,” he said. “We are in the right spot,” DeBerry said. “The question is, do we get ready for it?” Johnson said he wants the plan to include how the city will lock into Chickasaw Trail-type development. “We’ve
got to stick a pin (on the map) and ask is this where we start,” said
the mayor. “We have not done it because of financial and budget
concerns. Now we have identified a windfall the city will realize. This
time we are betting house money, not risking a bet on our budget. We
can take that money to position ourselves for economic, industrial and
commercial development.” Alderman Johnnie Bagley said she was very excited about the proposal but wanted more time to study it. “We
are playing with house money,” DeBerry said. “I see this as a watershed
moment when you can do something you probably could not do otherwise.” Colhoun expressed his concern about salaries and figures that would be paid to the two prospective consultants. “Time
is a-wasting,” DeBerry said. “At some point in time, with what’s
happening at MI College Apartments and tax credits on the north side of
town - these things will have a cumulative impact. Companies plan five
years out. You’ve got to be ready when they are. It is not a cost to
taxpayers of Holly Springs, not one red cent.” Johnson held reservations. “I
think Farrell already has too much involvement and that they will tell
us what we already know,” he said. “We are in the best position in
Marshall County and we need to be prepared.” DeBerry agreed there are plenty of knowns. “The
crux is, how do we put all the knowns into a set of objectives of how
to get there?” he said. “I think the city takes the initiative and will
include the county in a way to compel them to come along.” “In doing this, why can’t we include the county, too?” asked Bagley. DeBerry
said when talking about Holly Springs community development the action
is with the city, while if talking about industrial development there
will be some connection between the Highway 72 projects. “Utilities
will be the key,” he said. “The county is depending on Holly Springs.
We’ve got to move this ship. We’ve got to drive this train. Holly
Springs is out there trying to implement its own future. “We
need to realize the Industrial Development Authority can help us
coordinate this and the Mississippi Development Authority and TVA have
strategists.” Bagley asked for more time. “I love this idea,” she said. “Give us a chance to look at it.”
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