Editor’s note: This is the fourth story in a series about the projects Mayor Phillip West has planned for his term.

NATCHEZ &045;&045; City officials are exploring the possibility of forming a nonprofit corporation to raising private-sector money to help fund recreation improvements.

A &uot;Friends of the Parks&uot; foundation, they said, would be able to tap into sources &045;&045; foundation grants, donations, bequests and endowments &045;&045; governments can’t legally receive, Recreation Director Ralph Tedder said.

The idea isn’t new. The Economic Development Authority’s Winnie Kaiser, Alderman Jake Middleton and the Recreation Department championed the idea in 1998. But city government is now strapped for cash, and revenues from sources such as golf fees are declining.

New sources of recreation revenue are being sought anew to develop and implement an overall plan for recreation improvements. And West has named forming the foundation a top priority for his term. &uot;I am very pleased and excited Mayor West is taking a lead role,&uot; Tedder said.

Last year, a countywide Recreation Commission drafted a preliminary plan of new facilities and recreation improvements &045;&045; at an estimated $12 million to $15 million. Those included ballfields, soccer fields, walking trails and picnic pavilions, a horse arena and a pool, among other things.

Aldermen voted to allocate $22,000 for the commission to hire a consultant to draw up a final plan to be presented to the public for a vote on a bond issue to fund the project. But the county and school board haven’t put up money to hire a consultant to draw up a plan.

So far, West and Tedder have met with Dr. Ted Flickinger, president of the Illinois Association of Park Districts, who has helped form 64 local recreation foundations in that state to see how such foundation would be formed.

The next step is to get aldermen to allocate the full cost of hiring a consultant to develop a citywide recreation plan &045;&045; an estimated cost of $30,000 to $40,000 &045;&045; and to encourage county supervisors to develop their own plan, Tedder said.

He then envisions consolidating the city Recreation Department and County Recreation Council and forming the Friends of the Parks Foundation board itself.

Two or three members appointed by West would then appoint a full board to take their place so the board would be free of political appointments, Tedder said.

A separate recreation project West wants to pursue during his term is to seek a feasibility study from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to have St. Catherine Creek developed into a waterway for erosion control and recreation purposes.

While no plans have yet been drawn up on the amenities such a waterway would have, &uot;it’s something I would like to investigate,&uot; West said, adding that former Mayor Tony Byrne also championed the idea during his term.