Meeting to discuss future of area ballparks planned for Thursday

Published 12:17 am Tuesday, October 8, 2019

 

NATCHEZ — Natchez and Adams County elected officials will hold a joint meeting with members of the Natchez Adams County Recreation Commission at 9 a.m. Thursday in the Board of Supervisors building at 314 State St. to discuss plans for rehabilitating area ballparks.

During Monday’s Adams County Board of Supervisors meeting, Jimmy Ware of the Natchez Adams County Recreation Commission, requested a joint meeting with the Natchez Mayor and Board of Aldermen, the Board of Supervisors and the recreation commission to address funding planned upgrades for the ballparks in Duncan Park and Liberty Park and softball fields near Natchez High School.

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In May, the recreation commission hired the Joseph Furr Design Studio for $25,000 to create a plan that would put the ballparks up to par with league standards with price estimates ranging from $1.3 million to $3.5 million.

Ware said the commission would need guidance from both boards for what areas they could fund before requesting bids from contractors.

Supervisor David Carter said one immediate concern pertaining to recreation is a broken water line tied to the girl’s softball complex near Natchez High School that had been shut off since last summer.

“The water is off but the bathrooms are still open,” Carter said, “and now the toilets are all filled up. … There is no practical reason for every toilet to be backed up. It’s like a third world country out there.”

Chancery Clerk Brandi Lewis echoed Carter’s concern, stating that her daughter played on the field and she and other girls couldn’t use the restrooms at all because every toilet was filled with sewage.

Ware said the water line is located on the Natchez Adams School District’s property and therefore the school district would need to address it.

“The school cut it off and they are the ones who would need to fix it,” Ware said.