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NATCHEZ, Miss. – The city board rejected the mayor’s behest to convert part of Duncan Park’s tennis venue into pickleball courts.

Following the Board of Aldermen’s 4-2 vote, Natchez Parks & Recreation Director Ryan Porter indicated he might resign as arguments continued over the management of the Duncan Park courts.

Mayor Dan Gibson on Tuesday urged the Board of Aldermen to approve Porter’s plan to convert three Duncan Park tennis courts into 10 pickleball courts. The proposal failed after they debated whether the growing popularity of pickleball outweighs the need to have so many tennis courts.

Duncan Park pickleball players currently use tennis courts that are reconfigured as needed for their smaller playing space. Porter presented the plan for making three of the 10 tennis courts exclusively for pickleball at a cost of about $31,000 – with half funded by private dollars.

Alderman Valencia Hall expressed concerns that having only seven tennis courts would be insufficient for high school tennis tournaments. However, Gibson maintained that such tournaments are rarely held while local pickleballers play year-round.

While the six-member board was divided along racial lines – four Black aldermen versus two Whites – in the pickleball dispute, Frazier said it’s “not about race.” He said the mayor and aldermen should get more feedback from tennis players about their concerns for having fewer tennis courts. “The public should’ve had input,” he said. 

Gibson and Moroney said they did hear from tennis players and high school coaches along with pickleballers. The plan voted down Tuesday is “the best compromise,” said Moroney, who noted there would still be seven tennis courts at Duncan Park with the 10 smaller courts dedicated just for pickleball.

Gibson expressed concerns Duncan Park will lose pickleball players who’ll be attracted to Vidalia’s new recreation facilities at Polk Park.

After the board’s 4-2 vote against the pickleball court proposal, spectators walked out of the meeting complaining about the decision – prompting Natchez police Commander Shane Daugherty to usher out one critic taunting the board.

In another testy exchange, Porter expressed frustrations as Irving sharply questioned his proposal to take over day-to-day management of the Duncan Park tennis center in place of tennis instructor Frankie Spence.

After the board did approve Porter’s management plan, he said: “I will stick around for the baseball season and additional 30 days to get this underway. I’m not going to leave the job undone, but I can’t promise after that.”

In a statement he provided today, Porter said: “I’m not going anywhere just yet—the work isn’t finished. We have 273 kids playing baseball right now who deserve my full support, and I plan to be there for them. We are also sitting at 99% completion on the Duncan Park trails, and I’ve worked too hard alongside this community to not see that through. With the Dog Park Project gaining momentum and our new oversight of tennis operations beginning, my plate is full and my heart is in it. I’m focused on finishing what we started before I think about what comes next.”

The debate over refashioning Duncan Park tennis courts for pickleball comes as surfaces on the older westside courts have severe cracks that need to be mended. Tennis courts at North Natchez Park also have cracks that Porter presented plans to repair for $10,000.

Tuesday’s meeting of the Natchez Board of Aldermen and mayor can be viewed at:

 www.facebook.com/cityofnatchezms/videos/1331968105416730

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Fiery words Monday between two Adams County supervisors prompted Sheriff Travis Patten to physically step in to quell their argument.

The dispute erupted between supervisors Kevin Wilson and Ricky Gray when Wilson criticized colleagues for the costs of traveling to Hawaii for a national conference of county officials.

While Wilson said such trips are a waste of county money, Gray said traveling to these conferences provides supervisors information and other benefits that help them do their jobs.   

Their sharply worded exchanges reached the point where it appeared a physical altercation could be imminent – impelling Patten to scurry up to the board table to stand between Wilson and Gray.

Wilson – the five-member Adams County board’s only Republican – has been complaining in recent months about travel expenses and plans for the taxpayer-paid venture to Hawaii. 

Noting he doesn’t take such trips, Wilson questioned whether the $8,000 budgeted for each supervisor that he doesn’t use is being reallocated to other supervisors.

“I disagree with that wholeheartedly…. It looks bad,” he said.

The expenses for airline, hotel and other travel costs total about $6,700 for the two supervisors attending the Hawaii conference, according to Adams County Administrator Mitzi Conn.

Gray defended the value of traveling to government-related conferences that help him perform his duties, and he shunned Wilson’s  criticism.

“I work for the people of District 4. I don’t work for no supervisor,” Gray said. “I ain’t never done anything to harm the people of this county.”

Adams County board President Angela Hutchins also defended the trip, noting other county supervisors from Mississippi plan to attend.

The National Organization of Black County Officials is meeting in Hawaii next month for its annual economic development conference. The gathering at the Westin Maui Resort & Spa is scheduled for May 7-11. The National Association of Counties’ western region conference is also in Maui for May 5-8 at the Hyatt Regency Maui.

The NOBCO conference will focus on technology, wellness and equal opportunity, according to its website. The NAC conference will focus on issues mainly impacting western states, such as water shortages and wildfire recovery.

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Fee increases are being assessed on users of the city golf course that includes a $5 hike on players riding solo on golf carts.

These are the first across-the-board increases in seven years as maintenance costs have risen, said Duncan Park golf course Superintendent Greg Brooking.  He asked the Natchez Board of Aldermen to approve the fee hikes Tuesday.

The new fees include $25 for single golf cart riders (up from $20) and a $15 green fee (up $1).  The fee for two-rider carts increases by $2.

Brooking said the new fees for the city-owned Natchez Golf Club at Duncan Park remain less than what’s charged at the Percy Quin State Park golf course near McComb, the closest other public golfing venue. 

 “I think we’re giving our taxpayers a quality product that’s worthy of it,” he said.

The Board of Aldermen also approved doubling the fee for renting Duncan Park’s newly renovated golf clubhouse. The $500 fee will be charged for using the building for parties or other such gatherings for three hours.

Duncan Park is hosting a state championship this weekend – the first city-owned golf course in the state to ever be asked to have such a Mississippi Golf Association-sponsored event, according to Brooking. The 2026 Bill Cass Senior Four-Ball Championship takes place Friday through Sunday and has nearly 70 golfers from throughout the state registered to play, according to the tournament’s tee sheet.

Duncan Park’s golfing venue dates back to 1916, when its first nine-hole course was constructed. It was expanded in 1993 to make it an 18-hole course.

Duncan Park pickleball players currently use tennis courts that are temporarily reconfigured for their smaller playing space. Natchez Recreation Director Ryan Porter presented the plan for making three of the 10 tennis courts exclusively for pickleball at a cost of about $31,000 – with half funded by private dollars.

Alderman Valencia Hall expressed concerns that having only seven tennis courts would be insufficient for high school tennis tournaments. However, Alderman Curtis Moroney noted high school tennis play is seasonal while pickleballers are year-round, and Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson expressed concerns Duncan Park will lose pickleball players who’ll be attracted to Vidalia’s new recreation facilities.

While the board tabled the pickleball court plans, Gibson told Porter to talk more with high school tennis coaches and others about any concerns they have about losing three tennis courts.

The debate over refashioning Duncan Park tennis courts for pickleball comes as surfaces on westside courts have severe cracks that need to be mended.  

NATCHEZ, Miss. — City aldermen approved an agreement Tuesday with Walmart for using its north parking lot to access adjacent land that Natchez officials hope to sell to a shopping center developer.

Prior to the open vote, they closed the public out of detailed discussions that Mayor Dan Gibson said dealt with “confidential matters” related to selling the publicly owned property. Gibson has previously said Walmart’s cooperation is key to providing an entrance to the proposed shopping center that a Tennessee company envisions.

Horne Properties has been making plans the past two years for a Natchez retail center on the 30-acre tract where the Veterans of Foreign Wars post was located across from Natchez High School. The Board of Aldermen in February agreed to give the Knoxville-based developer another year to decide whether it’ll buy the city-owned land.

The purchase is contingent on resolving various issues, which have included ensuring the proposed shopping center adjacent to Walmart is easily accessible from Seargent Prentiss Drive.

While Gibson said last year he hoped the development deal would be sealed before February, more time is needed.

The mayor has said Horne is planning a $40 million venture here that includes one prospect larger than the Hobby Lobby store that just opened at the Trace Town shopping center.

Horne has developed more than 140 properties, including shopping centers in Tennessee, Alabama, Ohio, Oklahoma and North Carolina, according to the company’s website. They accommodate such chain stores as Kroger, Home Depot, Petsmart, Staples, Ross Dress for Less – and Walmart.

The Natchez property that Horne has optioned to buy was given to the city in 2015 by the state. The Natchez Board of Aldermen subsequently put it up for sale for an initial asking price of $4.5 million.

State law requires selling the property with revenues to be divided equally between the city, the National Park Service and the Mississippi Department of Archives & History. The money is to be used for unspecified enhancements of the Natchez riverfront, the Natchez National Historical Park and other historic properties.

Gibson last year specified that $1.2 million is to be provided for projects at the Grand Village of Natchez Indians and the national park. 

NATCHEZ, Miss. – The state Legislature has passed a bill to let Natchez-Adams County’s two governing boards continue funding the community’s industrial recruitment agency. The legislation awaits Gov. Tate Reeves’ approval to become law.

The measure authorizes the Natchez Board of Aldermen and Adams County Board of Supervisors to increase what they allocate to Natchez Inc. The city board can give the nonprofit corporation $150,000 a year – up from the $100,000 previously allowed. The county board can give Natchez Inc. $225,000 a year – up from the $165,000 previously authorized.

Local governments need the state’s permission to donate funds to a nonprofit organization such as Natchez Inc.

With the law for Natchez Inc. expiring this year, the Mississippi Senate and House voted for the legislation in the winding days of their annual session that concluded Friday. Senate Bill 2931 becomes law with the governor’s signature and will be in effect until July 2030.

Natchez Inc. was established in 2010 as the economic development arm for Natchez and Adams County. The agency headed by Chandler Russ and a board of directors works to recruit, retain and expand businesses in the area to create more jobs. 

In its efforts to lure new businesses, Natchez Inc. provides economic and demographic information, helps find sites and buildings to occupy and directs industrial prospects to state and local financial incentives. The agency also focuses on workforce training.

The agency’s private funding arm – Natchez Now – is sponsoring a public update Thursday about its recent business development activities. It’ll be held at Bowie’s Rabbit Hole in the Barrel Room at 5:30 p.m.

Natchez Inc. has been mainly focused on trying to find industries to locate on two county-owned properties: the old International Paper mill site and old Belwood Country Club.

Adams County in recent years has succeeded in getting millions of dollars in state and federal funds to enhance these sites by the Mississippi River. While a few tenants have been lured to occupy some of the 478-acre IP property the county bought in 2013, efforts have failed thus far in getting an industry to come to the Belwood site the county got in 1998.

Russ has called Belwood “the best 110-acre site on the Mississippi River” with a newly built levee and appealing accommodations such as utilities, rail lines and easy access to a key water transportation artery.