Lowndes County has formally announced its intent to withdraw from the Columbus Lowndes Recreation Authority.
The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in favor of the action Tuesday morning, with the stipulation that county, city of Columbus and CLRA representatives will meet to discuss possible resolutions to issues facing recreation in the county.
Lowndes County and Columbus maintain an inter-local agreement to run CLRA. If either party chooses to withdraw from the agreement, it must give a year’s notice.
Tuesday’s decision comes after months of speculation on whether Lowndes County will dissolve the inter-local agreement. The decision is a step in that direction, but not necessarily the end of the process.
Board President Harry Sanders said the decision gives the city “incentive” to come to the table, which he said he felt might not exist otherwise. He added the board’s decision doesn’t mean the county will ultimately leave the inter-local agreement.
“We can always change our minds,” he said. “If six months from now, we can get with the city because of all these things, have these meetings and can come to some sort of agreement on what we need to do, we can negate the intent and just continue on with the new process.”
Brigham: Split could be good for city
In June, supervisors hired Clinton-based RF Consulting for $4,000 to conduct a review of CLRA’s facilities and operations. The firm returned a nine-page report to Lowndes County in August. The report takes a broad look at CLRA and doesn’t make any specific recommendations on if the county should maintain its role in the inter-local agreement.
However, the report includes some steps the county could consider should it split from CLRA, such as building a sports complex and entering partnerships with state agencies like Wildlife and Fisheries.
District 2 Supervisor Bill Brigham said a split, if it happens, could be good for the city. He said having fewer facilities to worry about might focus the city’s efforts and that the city should “look at it as a challenge.”
Mayor Robert Smith previously issued a statement saying a split could lead to “recreation segregation,” — a sentiment he has since told The Dispatch he still maintains.
Sanders said the county will now focus on its Fiscal Year 2016-17 budget, which must be approved by Sept. 15, then will turn its attention toward organizing public meetings to discuss parks and recreation.
City response
Columbus Mayor Robert Smith was skeptical on Tuesday of supervisors’ intention to meet with city officials. He said supervisors previously indicated the consultant would meet with the city during the study, but that never happened. As such, he said he doesn’t expect the county to reach out to the city now.
Smith also pointed to a letter seeking to work with the county on hiring a consultant he sent Sanders before the board hired RF Consulting.
“If you think about it, if they were planning to meet with the city, they would have done it before saying they want to split,” Smith said. “I wrote a letter asking them to meet to no avail. If I sent a letter and they refused, where do you go from there?”
Still, Smith said he’s open to meeting with the county, if supervisors extend an invitation.
Should the county decide to split, Smith said the city will continue to support parks. He said he may have to meet with CLRA Director Greg Lewis to discuss priorities and manpower for the parks moving forward.
District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks said during Tuesday’s meeting he wants the county to proceed carefully and possibly organize a transition team as it works through the process of determining what will happen with parks and recreation.
“My whole concern is that we just not tear up our relationship with the city,” Brooks said. “I think it’s safe to say the relationship that we once had is kind of on the egg shell. I don’t know if anybody is willing to reach out and try to make it whole again.”
Smith said for the moment, other city-county agreements aren’t in danger.
“I wouldn’t say this jeopardizes any other agreements or memorandums of understanding,” he said.
Ward 4 Columbus Councilman Marty Turner told The Dispatch in a phone interview today that he welcomes the split, adding he is “very confident” the city can effectively run its own parks system without the county’s help.
Further, he said the supervisors’ decision revealed a pattern with county action that cuts out Columbus from consideration.
“I think this is the best thing that ever happened in Columbus,” Turner said. “I think people will open their eyes and see that Lowndes County does not recognize the city of Columbus, yet they do recognize Caledonia and New Hope. And they neglect Artesia and Crawford. So, this is great because I want this conversation to happen.”
History and CLRA structure
CLRA’s inter-local agreement was created in 1990.
Should the inter-local agreement be terminated, all CLRA property located within Columbus city limits will become the property of the city, and all property located outside of city limits will become the property of Lowndes County, according to the agreement.
The only exception would be the Lowndes County Soccer Complex, County Administrator Ralph Billingsley told The Dispatch. Though located in downtown Columbus, the county owns the soccer complex. Therefore, Billingsley said, the county would likely maintain it after a CLRA split.
Other facilities within city limits include: Propst Park, the CLRA/Cook Soccer Complex, Lee Park, East Columbus Gym, Northaven Woods Park, Hank Aaron Park, Sim Scott Park, Townsend Park, the Charles Brown basketball pavilion and Dean Acres Park.
Facilities outside Columbus include: the Anderson Grove, Artesia, Crawford, Plum Grove, Caledonia and Steens community centers, as well as Concord Park.
CLRA receives the bulk of its funding from Columbus and Lowndes County. The authority is governed by a five-member board of directors, with two members appointed by the city council, two by the supervisors and one jointly-appointed member.
The board consists of president and county appointee Scott Hannon, county appointee Donnie Sanders, city appointee Harry Ford, city appointee Bennie Coleman and at-large appointee Shane Edwards.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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