A second round of bids for improvements at Propst Park still far exceed the project’s budget and have city leaders grappling with how to proceed.
Chief Financial Officer James Brigham told the council during a Thursday work session the city has about $1.4 million in funding on hand from the tourism tax that can go toward the project.
That available funding is well short of the bid, which, according to figures provided by City Engineer Kevin Stafford, was $3,350,350.
That bid, submitted by Weathers Construction, would build four new youth baseball fields and retrofit lighting at the Field of Dreams.
Weathers submitted the sole bid in September, but it was $3.5 million. Stafford recommended rejecting it and trying again in the hopes that inflation would have eased and that competition would drive down the price.
With the new bid amount only marginally lower, Brigham told the council it would need to borrow about $2 million to complete the work.
One possibility would be the tourism tax. The city gets about $33,000 monthly, and he said one possibility is using about $20,000 of that monthly revenue for 10 years to service the debt.
The tourism tax adds an extra 2 percent sales tax on prepared food and beverages in the city limits. The revenue is split between the city, Lowndes County, the Golden Triangle Development LINK and the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The city’s share is about $400,000 a year, and is earmarked for recreation spending, and the $1.4 million it has on-hand comes from collections over the past four years.
The legislation sunsets this year, but a request to renew the tax for 10 years, rather than the original four-year term, has been approved by both houses of the legislature and has been sent to the governor for his signature.
Brigham urged the council to be wary of taking on more debt, however.
“I am 100 percent for parks, and I think the $1.4 million we have should go to the parks,” he said. “But borrowing the $2 million is a challenge.”
The city is looking at about $1 million to re-roof the aging Municipal Complex and the adjacent strip mall, Brigham said. There are also equipment needs, including paying for a new fire truck, and the council needs to keep in mind that there may be overages on repairing the stricken pedestrian bridge.
In February 2020 a barge broke loose from a tow boat and crashed into the bridge’s eastern support pier. After the dust from a federal lawsuit settled, the city emerged with a $4.2 million settlement to repair it.
The city also is asking the state for money to complete the Terry Brown Amphitheater and may need to come up with matching funds, Brigham said.
“There’s a lot on the table right now,” Brigham said.
Recreation Director Greg Lewis asked the council to stay the course and find a funding source.
“I know we have to wait on that final decision on the tourism tax,” Lewis said. “But, and I hate to put it this way, we’ve got people who are still paying their money to come and play in that raggedy park.”
Ward 5 Councilman Stephen Jones said he thought the park could generate some income to help pay for improvements.
“At the end of the day we want the park to be a revenue producer,” he said. “You’ve got the 2 percent (tax) but then you’ve also got that other money coming in as far as the park itself.”
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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