NATCHEZ &045; According to Joe Eidt, the future of a proposed recreation initiative hangs on the results of a consultant’s study &045; and, before that, a vote.

Make that three votes.

Last month the Recreation Commission voted to ask city aldermen, county supervisors and the school board &045; the boards that appointed the commission’s members &045; for a total of $63,500 to last them through September 2004.

Specifically, the commission is asking for $1,500 for this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, and $62,000 for the next fiscal year &045; including $30,000 for a consultant to draw up a master plan of new facilities and improvements and what will cost.

The commission is also the boards to extend the commission’s life for one year to give it more time to plan recreation improvements and to &uot;sell&uot; voters on the plan and a bond issue to fund it.

&uot;We’re on hold until we can get funding and find out whether they’re willing to give us an extension,&uot; Eidt said. &uot;If they don’t, it’s a moot point.&uot;

Eidt said he has sent a funding request to Natchez aldermen, county supervisors and the school board. He plans to attend the supervisors’ Monday meeting and the school board’s Aug. 11 meeting to answer any questions.

Although some supervisors and school board members have expressed reservations about funding a recreation study in tight economic times, most aldermen have said they will vote for the extension and funding.

Alderman and Mayor Pro Tem David Massey said Saturday that he believes aldermen, who listened to a presentation from Eidt at their last meeting, will vote for both the extension and the funding.

&uot;That’s not much &045; we can do that,&uot; Massey said about the city’s share of this year’s funding.

As far the request for next year is concerned, he said, &uot;We’re committed to doing it. We’ll just have to cut money somewhere else.&uot;

City officials, as well as county officials begin hearings later this month to plan budgets for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1 &045; and, especially with last month’s closing of International Paper’s Natchez mill, local boards will have to make some tough financial choices.

&uot;It’s understandable that no (elected official) wants to be seen as wasting money,&uot; Eidt said.

Still, Massey said, &uot;This is an economic development tool, Š a way to get people into our city to spend money, as well as recreation for our local citizens.&uot;

However, Massey didn’t give a date when aldermen might vote on the issue. Meanwhile, Eidt and his fellow recreation board members wait.

The Recreation Commission’s members have already discussed some components they would like to see in a countywide recreation plan, including new facilities and improvements to existing ones.

Those have included ballfields, soccer fields, walking trails and picnic pavilions, a horse arena and a pool &045; at an estimated cost of $12 million to $15 million, and probably done in phases of $2 million to $3 million each.

But to put together a comprehensive recreation plan that will satisfy enough Adams County voters &045; 60 percent must vote for the plan for it to pass &045; more study must be done.

A consultant must be brought in to compile a master plan of recreational facilities, with input from the commission and, through a series of hearings, from the public, Eidt said.

The commission and consultant will also have to decide which parts of the project would go in which phases.

Only then, he said, will the commission know how much it will have to ask voters to pay for the plan &045; a figure that must be sent to the Secretary of State’s Office by early August 2004 to be included on that November’s ballot.

Local governments aren’t required to allow the people to vote on such a bond issue but are committed to taking the issue to a vote, at least for the first phase, said City Attorney Walter Brown.

For subsequent phases, &uot;they might advertise (their intent to issue bonds), and then if there’s an objection and at least 1,500 voters ask for it, there would be a vote,&uot; Brown said.

Why should voters cast their ballots for the plan? Eidt knows that, given the local economy, it might be a tough sell.

&uot;I’ve found few people, if any that don’t want something for recreation,&uot; Eidt said. &uot;But on other side, they’re asking &uot;How much is it going to cost us?’ We’re going to have to be as frugal and creative as possible to get this passed.&uot;

Still, he reasoned, most people who have lived in Adams County for any length of time have been touched by area recreation programs in some way.

&uot;Most folks in this community have had family that, somewhere along the line, have probably utilized the facilities we have at a low cost to them,&uot; Eidt said.

The land for Duncan Park, for example, was donated to the city in the early 1900s. &uot;That was only last big recreation project,&uot; said city Recreation Director Ralph Tedder.

&uot;The cost has been low, but (these facilities) have offered the community a lot,&uot; Eidt said.

But in order to give the children of the future the same opportunities, &uot;we’re going to have to spend some money. Besides, you’re investing in the infrastructure of your community.&uot;

And in its economy. Eidt said communities that have tournament-ready ballfields, soccer fields and the like can attract hundreds of people to their facilities each season &045; visitors who spend money on meals, hotel rooms and the like.

Eidt recently visited Gulfport recreation complex, with its eight ballfields and five soccer fields. &uot;The tournaments they hosted last year generated 5,200 motel room nights,&uot; Eidt said.

True, Gulfport lies on the beach and on an interstate, making it an ideal location for larger events &045; but Natchez can get its share if an investment is made now, Eidt said.

Apart from compiling a master plan and finding the funding, the commission has to find land on which to put new recreation facilities.

The commission has recently discussed the need for at least 180 acres &045; 50 acres for horse riding, 40 to 50 acres for soccer, 80 acres for softball and 10 to 20 acres for a swimming facility.

Possibilities discussed recently have included leasing 45 acres at the intersection of U.S. 84 and 61 or acquiring land from International Paper. Another would be to discuss with Alcorn State University the possibility of locating a natatorium on Alcorn’s Natchez campus.

The National Park Service is willing to lease the &uot;beanfield&uot; property just north of Natchez High to the city for recreational use. But, due to archeological finds on the property, the Park Service has said no digging can be done on the site.

If enough fill dirt can be brought in to level the land, it could be made into ballfields or soccer fields, even given the Park Service’s 35-foot height limit on lighting, Eidt said. Walked trails, he said, could also be placed at the site.

However, Eidt said, &uot;The parks that have it all in one place are the ones that are successful, and that would make it more economical. That would be our field of dreams.&uot;