State Sen. Bob M. Dearing said he thinks a $3.5 million bond issue to renovate the Duncan Park Golf Course has more than a fifty-fifty chance of passing this year.

But if it doesn’t pass this year, he said it will likely pass in the next four years.

Local officials want to make the golf course a satellite of the Natchez State Park. The Senate has passed a bill that would allow the park service to partner with municipalities for satellite courses; the bill now sits in the House’s Wildlife and Fiheries committee.

&uot;I give it a better than fifty-fifty chance of passing in this session,&uot; Dearing said Friday. &uot;Certainly within this term.&uot;

Natchez Mayor Larry L. &uot;Butch&uot; Brown said he hopes legislators will approve the project. &uot;We need it desperately down here,&uot; he said. &uot;It helps satisfy a recreational need.&uot;

Dearing said renovating the course will help expand its role as an economic development tool. &uot;It would truly help attract attention to conventions,&uot; he said.

Dearing said the $3.5 million bond issue would actually save the state money because the state wouldn’t have to build a new course at the state park.

If Duncan Park becomes a satellite course for the state park, the city will continue to maintain the golf course and collect its revenues.

The state isn’t obligated to build one at the Natchez State Park, but the park service’s master plan calls it eventually to build golf courses at the flagship parks. &uot;If the golf course is built now, rather than in five or eight years, it would probably save the state $8 (million) or $9 million,&uot; Dearing said.

If the park service builds a golf course at the state park, it will have to build a road around the park, Dearing said — which may double the cost of building it.

Dearing submitted the bond issue bill this week, and he said it hasn’t been assigned a number yet.