A city alderman said he is going to request more money from the county to be given to the parks and recreation commission.
Alderman Aubry Brent Jr. said he will be meeting with the Yazoo County Board of Supervisors as they prepare for their upcoming budget in the hopes of getting a “fair share” in funds for the local parks.
“I am going to request that they consider parks and recreation in their budget,” Brent said. “There is a way we can go to them and let them understand that we are paying our fair share. We can accept no less than the fair share from the county. Maybe if they consider parks and recreation in their budget like we are going to do…then we can get some additional funding.”
According to recent financial statements of the Yazoo Recreation Commission, the city of Yazoo City contributes $117,000 to the program yearly. Yazoo County contributes a total of $91,080.
Supervisor Cobie Collins said the county does several things for the recreation commission that make up for the almost $26,000 difference.
“We just spent over $5,000 on the fields with installing new top soil that will allow games to continue as soon as 30 minutes after a rain,” Collins said.
The top soil was added to the fields at Sam Nicholas Park, Campanella Park and the Wardell Leach Recreational Complex.
“We have also given them a tractor with a bush hog, as well as several vehicles,” Collins said. “We have hauled a ton of dirt to the different parks, especially more to Campanella than any other field.”
Collins said the county was also willing to donate funds to the commission to repair bathrooms. However, the county wanted the funds to be earmarked for the specific project to ensure it was completed.
“We never reached an agreement,” Collins said. “It seems that the only thing anyone is concerned about is that they just want us to put in more money. But we do not have much input for the amount of money we contribute.”
