Adams County Approves $243K Restroom Project at Chester Willis Stadium, Allows Limited Shower Access for Homeless Residents

Adams County supervisors have hired a contractor to build public restrooms at the Chester Willis baseball stadium at a cost of $243,000 plus more for sewer connections.

Located at the county-owned Liberty Park, the bathrooms will complement the newly renovated baseball venue that was enhanced at a cost of more than $2 million in 2024. County supervisors on Monday awarded Phoenix Construction Co. the contract to build the bathrooms. However, more planning and work is needed for the sewer connections at a budgeted cost of about $13,000.

The schedule is to have the restrooms ready for the spring baseball season at the 600-seat stadium.

In a separate matter Monday, supervisors agreed to let homeless people use the showers by the Adams County Safe Room, the structure built for disaster refugees across the street from Chester Willis field. A volunteer group led by Tom McGehee asked the board for this permission.

McGehee said two hours will be allotted on Mondays for homeless people to use the showers, which were recently built outside the county-owned Safe Room for storm evacuees temporarily housed there. The board agreed to charge the volunteer group $50 a month for use of the showers.

McGehee, a retired Natchez police officer, said his group has been trying to determine the number of people in the area who need shelter, evaluate their circumstances and find places to house them.

 
This comes as a state homeless law took effect in July that specifically prohibits encampments on public properties not intended to be campsites. People convicted of violating this law can be fined and jailed for up to six months.

To enforce the new law, local officials have posted signs in known homeless encampments telling people to vacate the premises and remove their belongings and litter or face legal action.

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