I understand the frustration Mayor Diane Delaware and Ward 2 Alderman Dr. Jack Varner have about parks and recreation in our community. Those frustrations are shared by just about anyone who participates in the program.
I also understand why they wish the county would contribute more money to the local programs.
But the idea of forming a program separated from the county would only make matters worse.
The last thing we need to do is have less funds for our local parks or to create division between city and county residents who use the parks.
The volunteers who coach the teams, run the leagues and the kids who play don’t have anything to do with these silly political games. In fact they provide an example of working together that our local elected officials could learn from.
The best way to convince county leadership to invest more in parks and recreation would probably be to convince them that those dollars would be put to good use. I also understand why county leaders aren’t convinced that just throwing more money at the problem.
Why not appeal to them with a realistic plan that details how the funds would be used? That would seem to be a natural step in asking for more money.
Delaware said she believes she can raise over $50,000 to make up for the county no longer contributing, and then county residents could be charged user fees for using the park.
Those residents are already paying fees.
I have a child who played coach-pitch baseball this year and another who played four-year-old softball. It was nearly $200 for them to play. That included the uniform and batting helmets were provided.
I’m not complaining about the cost. I thought it was reasonable, but adding additional fees could easily get excessive. Like most parents with young children, my wife and I are usually broke. It’s a sacrifice to pay those fees. If they got much higher, I’d start looking at other options.
What if the county decided to start its own program?
Then the city’s program might suffer even more. All of the baseball teams are sponsored by local businesses. This newspaper sponsors a team every year just like many other community-minded business and civic clubs. If the county had to form its own program with its own teams, that would result in less sponsors to go around.
Most small businesses can’t afford to just add another $500 to their donations budget. Of course most elected officials don’t understand how that works.
But the worst part about the whole discussion is the idea that county residents are somehow taking advantage of the city by using the local parks. That’s sometimes the tone of these discussions whether or not it’s intended.
I am one of those county residents.
I was born in Yazoo County. That’s where my parents lived, and my grandparents – and my great-grandparents.
Like most county residents, I love Yazoo City. If someone asks me where I’m from, I proudly say, “Yazoo City.”
It’s all home to me. I work in Yazoo City. I do nearly all of my shopping in Yazoo City.
After those ball games at Yazoo City’s parks, I usually take my family to one of Yazoo City’s restaurants because it’s too late to cook supper. Before the games, we usually stop by a local store to buy sports drinks and snacks.
County residents are not the enemy.
One of the things that I’ve enjoyed the most about being a parent of children in Yazoo’s parks and recreation programs is that I’ve been able to make a lot of new friends that I might have otherwise not have gotten to know.
Some of them live in the county, and some live in the city. Some are black, and some are white.
None of that really matters. They’re all good people who are trying to do good things for our kids. We’ve never taken a census to see who lives where or conducted any DNA test to confirm our ethnic origins.
We all work together just fine. If our elected leaders can’t do the same, maybe what we really need is some new leaders.
