A member of the Yazoo Parks and Recreation Board resigned Monday, stating that he believes the board is doing nothing, and his efforts to improve local parks have been resisted.
Nathan Burton told the Yazoo County Board of Supervisors Monday that he considers the current condition of the local baseball and softball fields to be unacceptable, and he believes the Parks and Recreation Board has failed to maintain them. Burton, who is also one of the directors of the Yazoo Dixie Youth Baseball program, has served on the Parks and Rec Board for two years.
“I’m resigning for the simple fact that nothing has been done in two years,” Burton said. “Our facilities are poor, our bathrooms are poor, and our fields are worse than any other fields I’ve played on. During the two years that I’ve been on the board, many of the ideas that I’ve had and things that I’ve tried to do to improve our parks haven’t taken hold”
Burton said there is money to do the work, but the efforts haven’t been made.
“My passion is for youth sports, and I’ve brought forth many ideas,” Burton said. “You (the county) give about $100,000 a year between the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the county. We currently have a fund balance in Parks in Rec of nearly $50,000. We have no projects that have been completed between the months of July and February. Our fields are in the exact same state they were in back in July. I challenge each of you to go out to the fields and look.”
Burton said work should have been done on the parks during the offseason to have them ready.
“They don’t ever do any maintenance between July and February,” Burton said. “There are no projects completed. You can go out there and look. No lights have been fixed. No painting has been done. Our facilities are terrible, and the bathrooms are terrible to the point where it’s embarrassing. People are leaving our baseball programs because of the field conditions. It’s sad.”
Burton said parents and other volunteers have done their part to try to improve the fields.
“As parents we have tried to do some work on the field ourselves,” he said. “We have had workdays in the past, and we have rebuilt dugouts. All of this was done by volunteers.”
Burton said he coaches two teams, a Dixie Youth team and a traveling USSSA team, and he would like to see Yazoo host tournaments like other communities all over the state. He said youth baseball tournaments are well attended and could create tax revenue for the Parks and Recreation program while also creating tax revenue for the city and county due to all of the visitors buying gas, eating meals, staying in hotels, etc.
Burton said if communities like Carrollton and Kosciusko can have parks capable of hosting youth baseball tournaments there is no reason Yazoo County cannot meet the same standards.
“I would assume they have the same tax base,” Burton said.
Burton said Yazoo City is in a central location with communities hosting tournaments all around it. He said Yazoo would be ideal for hosting tournaments if the facilities were properly maintained.
“I could host tournaments at the complex, I could host coach-pitch tournaments at Sam Nicholas Field, I could run a big boys tournament at Campanella. Campanella has four fields. We also have John White Field that’s dead. Nobody plays on it. You can’t even have a USSSA tournament. I would love to be able to say Yazoo City’s as great place to have these tournaments.”
District 3 Supervisor Willie “Deuce” Wright questioned why Burton was complaining about the fields.
“What’s wrong with our fields,” asked District 3 Supervisor Willie “Deuce” Wright.
“Our fields hold water, our fields have ruts in them and the infields have ramps where ball will pop up in your face,” Burton said. “The infields have not been maintained to a point where in my opinion they aren’t safe.”
Wright said Parks and Recreation has inadequate staff.
“Jughead (Parks and Recreation Manager Henry Campbell) even got out there himself and did Campanella,” Wright said. “They do a good job.”
Wright said he has a problem with Burton complaining about the parks.
“I hear these complaints, and what they did one time – I might have been the only one that didn’t like it,” Wright said.
Wright took issue with a recent volunteer effort Burton led that used donated money and volunteer labor to make repairs and improvements at Sam Nicholas Field. Wright said he believes Campanella Park should have also gotten the same help.
“We haul dirt to the fields whenever they want it,” Wright said. “The only thing I hear him saying is what’s so bad and what ain’t been done. Some of us around this board know how it’s been when he comes in here.
Wright said he believes the fields are good, and he suspects other motives.
“I can’t see what he’s saying because I know how the fields are,” Wright said.
“You ain’t never had nothing good to say about Jughead (Parks and Rec Manage Henry Campbell) or that board,” Wright said. “I’m gonna be here to say it to your face. I have to say that you’re a racist. That’s what I feel.”
“I’ve got an opinion as well, and I think you’re a racist,” Burton responded.
“That’s right,” Wright said. “I ain’t got a problem with that.”
“I’m not racist,” Burton said.”
“Well that’s the opinion I got, and your opinion about me – I ain’t got a problem with that,” Wright said. “You come up here today, and you ain’t got nothing good to say. That’s my opinion.”
“I’m not speaking on opinions; I’m speaking on results,” Burton said. “I challenge you to look at our facilities.”
Board President Cobie Collins asked Burton what could be done to improve drainage on the fields.
“At this point, I don’t even care about the water,” Burton said. “I care about the infield being in a condition where a ball is hit toward the third baseman, and he expects the ball to roll on the ground, but right before it gets to him it pops up in his face. That could happen on any field, but at this point if you walk around on any of our fields – they all have ramps.”
“I understand why you’re resigning,” said District 4 Supervisor Jayne Dew, who appointed Burton to the board.
“As a Yazoo County resident and taxpayer knowing that y’all give out around $100,000 in tax revenue to Parks and Recreation, my opinion is that it’s currently a misappropriation of funds,” Burton said.
“We’re going to take a look at it,” Collins said.
District 1 Supervisor Van Foster said it’s difficult for him to find anyone willing to serve on the Parks and Recreation Board because they have the same concerns as Burton.
“Every time I’ve appointed someone to the Parks and Recreation Board they resign after a few months,” Foster said.
District 2 Supervisor David Berry said his appointment just resigned as well.
“Every one of them resigns for the same reason,” Dew said. “They’re resigning because there’s nothing being done.”
In other business during Monday’s meeting:
Bridges to be Replaced
* County Engineer Larry Dixon reported that bridges on Pepper Wilson Road in Vaughan and Pritchard Avenue in Bentonia will be replaced using state aid funds. Dixon said the cost of replacing the Pepper Wilson Road bridge will be around $800,000, and the bridge in Bentonia will cost a little less.
Dixon also said that plans to repair Carter Road are being reviewed.
Surplus County Vehicles
to be Sold
* Road Manager Owen Graves said the county will soon accept bids for some surplus vehicles. The county will advertise for sealed bids on the vehicles.
Private Cemetery Approved
* The board approved a request to establish a private cemetery on property located on Judkins Road.
