NATCHEZ — A discussion of the city’s inter-local recreation agreement Tuesday resembled a sporting match in which the conversation flew out of bounds several times — and the final score was uncertain.

City Attorney Hyde Carby led the meeting, which was meant to inform aldermen on proposed changes to the recreation agreement between the city, Adams County and the Natchez-Adams School Board of Trustees.

After adopting the 2015-2016 budget amid concerns of the city’s financial accounting, however, some aldermen’s fuses ran short when discussing how much money the city has to fund recreation.

“You won’t have to come up with any new money,” Natchez-Adams County Recreation Commission chairman Tate Hobdy said.

The city would pledge $550,000 in the agreement annually to cover operations costs for recreation, and the county would pledge $334,000.

For the first phase of pool and soccer field construction, the county and city would both give a one-time payment of $500,000.

And for the first 10 years of the inter-local agreement, both the city and county would pay $100,000 annually for recreation costs. Those funds would come from an annual donation from the Magnolia Bluffs Casino’s community development payment. The casino donates money annually that must be used for community development projects.

Carby said the agreement is still considered a preliminary draft, and it has to be approved by the county and school board.

Ward 1 Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis said she had no qualms about recreation costs, but she was bothered by the city’s slow pace to make any moves on recreation development.

“Is there any way we can borrow the mayor’s hard hats and turn some dirt before Thanksgiving?” Arceneaux-Mathis asked the board. “I know he has a bunch.”

Hobdy said he would try and get dirt turning by Thanksgiving, but the probability of that happening was unlikely.

“To throw a realistic timeline out there, this has to go to county and school board of approval,” Hobdy said.

Hobdy and other members of the recreation commission have been meeting with representatives from the YMCA in Jackson to discuss the possibility of the YMCA organization leading recreation in Natchez and Adams County.

Hobdy said the Y is on board — and has a director already selected to spearhead the city and country’s recreation.

The city just needs to sign off on the agreement, he said.

“My goal is to have renderings and a plan and be in construction talks by December,” Hobdy said.

One issue that caused the board to call time out and ask a long list of questions was the issue of how the Duncan Park Golf Course would be managed under the revised recreation agreement.

The city contracts with an independent company to manage the golf course. In the new agreement, Hobdy said the recreation commission would step into the city’s shoes and manage the contract.

Ward 6 Alderman Dan Dillard and Ward 5 Alderman Mark Fortenbery said Duncan Park is a success and they would be worried with it changing management.

“If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it,” Dillard said.

The city contracts with Mississippi Golf Management Co. to manage the course.

“What’s being discussed, is the city would assign that contract to the recreation commission, who would then stand in the city’s shoes in that agreement,” Carby said.

Hobdy recognized that there were concerns over changing the course’s management, but he assured the board that it would operate just as it had in past years. No changes would be made, he said.

“I know everyone gets up in arms when we mention golf,” Hobdy said. “That is why we need to talk about this.”

At the end of the meeting, Dillard made a motion to ratify the agreement, which the board unanimously approved.

Before Dillard made the motion, Mayor Butch Brown asked him, “You’re going to vote on this before seeing the final draft? Come on.”

After the vote, Brown said, “Frankly, I don’t know what we just voted on.”

Carby said he would present a finalized version of the recreation agreement again to the board at its Oct. 27 meeting.