Adams County board needs more money to upgrade baseball stadium

NATCHEZ, Miss. – About $400,000 more is needed to fund improvements for Chester Willis baseball field being planned by county supervisors.

Adams County board President Wes Middleton said upgrades being considered include installing new lights and ADA-compliant bleachers for the county-owned Liberty Park venue. The extra expenses, he said, could be paid with leftover money from the bond issue the board did for recreation. A cost-saving option could be to lease stadium lights rather than buying them.

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At its Monday meeting, the board agreed to put up championship banners on the fence by the Adams County Safe Room storm shelter and Willis field. The original plan was erect them on poles at an adjacent site closer to the nearby swimming pool.

Banners have been made to commemorate Natchez-Adams County high school sports teams that have been state champs over the past many years.

Championship Row organizer Greg West said about 80 teams from Natchez-Adams County high schools have been identified as the best in various Mississippi sports leagues or conferences going back to the 1940s or earlier.

Among the state champs with banners: the Natchez High School boys basketball team of 1948; the Sadie V. Thompson High School boys basketball team of 1961; Trinity boys basketball team of 1974; South Natchez baseball team of 1976; North Natchez girls basketball team of 1985; Cathedral baseball team of 1982; Natchez High girls track & field team of 2001; and the Adams County Christian School football team of 2018.

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Delta-Energy has not reached its promise of creating about 90 new jobs that was a condition for receiving state funds to help develop its fuel facility at the old International Paper plant, said county board attorney Scott Slover. Delta, which recycles tires into oil, acquired an IP building and about 30 acres from the county in 2015. The state provided funds to upgrade rail tracks on the site. Slover said an extension could be given to Delta to allow it more time to meet the job threshold, or the required jobs number could be lowered.

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The Board of Supervisors approved a $36,000 allocation to outfit Adams County volunteer firefighters with new gear. This will replace head-to-toe equipment that’s so worn out it’s “embarrassing,” said county Supervisor Angela Hutchins. The allocation Monday came after supervisors were told of various deficiencies – such as inadequate water supply – suffered by the county volunteer fire department.

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Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten said the installation of new crime cameras will begin later this month in undisclosed locations. The cameras will enable real-time monitoring and recording for nabbing crooks in the act.

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Federal funds the county has to help recover from COVID’s economic impact should be directed to paying debts the county owes from borrowing funds in past years, said two county supervisors.

Adams County has received nearly $6 million in American Rescue Plan Act money Congress enacted for cities and counties to fund a wide variety of priorities – such as infrastructure upgrades — as the country recovers from the economic distress caused by the pandemic that first struck in 2020.

County board President Wes Middleton said ARPA money is to fund priorities that will “make a lasting impression on our community.” Reducing the county’s debts will do that and free up money for other needs, he said. County Supervisor Kevin Wilson agreed — pointing to the interest money the county “is throwing away” that’s added to what the county has borrowed through bonds.