NATCHEZ — With a new president and a new organization within the structure of the Adams County Recreation Board, improvements to the county’s ballparks and playgrounds can be seen all over the county.

Adams County Supervisor Mike Lazarus said while organizational changes to the recreation board happened approximately two years ago, it’s only now that the changes are becoming more visible.

“They’ve done a lot of great work all over this county,” Lazarus said of the board.

Most noticeable is the work completed last year at Chester Willis Field.

The ballpark received $60,000 in upgrades including new bleachers, improved lighting, restroom repairs and a new concession stand, Adams County Recreation Board President David Carter said.

“It’s almost like a new park out there,” Carter said.

In addition to the work done at Chester Willis Field, the board has either made improvements or is planning improvements at the county’s five other playgrounds and ball fields, Carter said.

“We put in new bleachers and a new concession stand at the park in Broadmoor and we installed a new fence and new recreation equipment at the ball field in Kingston,” Carter said. “And we’re working on getting new lighting at the park in Providence.”

Fellow recreation board member Ronnie Herbert, with close to 20 years experience on the board, said now that the board is better organized and is making better use of its funding, more projects can be accomplished.

“Right now we have a good board, and we’re seeing a lot of work coming to an end,” Herbert said. “And now we can look at other projects, other areas to improve on.”

Lazarus said one major improvement the board has made is now focusing more of their funding on repair and maintenance work on county facilities and decreasing allocations made to local sports organizations.

While the recreation board manages it’s own $52,000 budget, members of the recreation board felt the budget would be better utilized if more of it were spent on upgrades at county parks and less was spent on local sports organizations, Lazarus said.

“A lot more people can benefit when they spend money on fixing up what we already have,” Lazarus said.

And with plans to continue upgrades to county recreation facilities, Carter is planning to ask for a budget increase this year.

Carter said he plans to ask the board of supervisors for a budget increase of approximately $8,000, which would bring his total budget to $60,000 a year.

And while the supervisors have not met with Carter to discuss the recreation board’s budget, Lazarus supports the increase.

“I’d like to see them get it,” he said. “When we have teams come from out of town, and we have nice facilities for them to use, that’s good for the whole county.”