NATCHEZ — The Natchez-Adams County Recreation Commission chairman blamed communication breakdowns Wednesday for a rift that has developed between city and county leaders and the commission.

Commission Chair Tate Hobdy was a guest speaker at the Rotary Club of Natchez.

His comments came just weeks after the city and county voted to take over the process of accepting construction bids for the Liberty Road pool project.

“If I have to say anything, the communication between the three boards has been really, really bad,” Hobdy said. “I still don’t know the direction the city and county want to take with the pool.”

A concern Hobdy cited in the communication was that on the day the county and city agreed to take over the bidding process, he discovered the decision had been made from a news reporter, hours after the vote, rather than directly from city or county leadership.

Hobdy said he was also concerned about the specifications for the pool the city or county might change.

“I don’t want to put my name on something that is not done correctly,” Hobdy said. “I just ask that the city and county lay out very clear expectations for (the recreation commission).”

Ward 3 Alderwoman Sarah Smith and Supervisors President Mike Lazarus were in attendance at the meeting.

Smith said she felt like Hobdy’s comments were a jab at the city, even though not directed at her, she wanted to comment.

Smith said many of the votes to take over the pool bidding were based on communications issues.

“We based our votes on the information given that (the recreation commission board members) were not bonded,” Smith said. “It turns out, that was not true.”

Mayor Darryl Grennell has also said purchasing laws the city and county have to follow played a factor into the decision. Grennell has said he wanted to make sure the taxpayers’ money was being handled correctly.

Lazarus said from the county’s standpoint, the concern was the initial bid came in approximately  $700,000 more than originally budgeted.

Lazarus said the recreation commission told them the project would be $1 million split between the city and county, so only $500,000 was budgeted.

“We don’t have the money unless we take it from somewhere else,” Lazarus said. “As long as I am a supervisor, we will stick to the budget. It’s what we have to do.”

The recreation commission sought estimates from consultants suggesting the $1 million number was feasible, Hobdy said. However, those estimates did not hold up to real world bids, he said.

Hobdy said if the recreation commission had retained control of the bidding process, the project would have been rebid to attempt to get a figure closer to the $1 million budget. Hobdy said the project would have been bid out as two items, one for the pool and the other for the support facilities.

Hobdy said more pool contractors might have bid if the proposals had been separate, which would have potentially driven the price of the pool down.

Lazarus said another concern he had was looking at the plans, and to him, some of it seems to be “over the top.”

Approximately $200,000 could be shaved off the proposal, Hobdy said, which would not negatively impact the pool too much.

The idea of putting the baseball facilities at Duncan Park also came up.

Hobdy said he did not believe a tournament-grade facility could be placed at Duncan Park because the park is in a neighborhood and not enough parking exists.

“I don’t think we’ll ever see a competitive baseball scenario out there,” Hobdy said. “But that’s fine, if it is what the community wants.

“I think we need to do analytics to find out what everyone really wants.”