The pathway to completion for a 14-mile Riverwalk extension has become a little bumpier and a little less sure.
A Senate bond bill awaiting the governor’s signature would allow the state to borrow $2.25 million for the project, a far cry from the $25 million Rep. Jeff Smith (R-Columbus) sought. It’s also less than half of the $5 million he hoped the state could contribute annually toward the project through 2019.
Still, Smith said something is better than nothing.
“I had high hopes,” Smith, who sponsored the Riverwalk extension bill and chairs the House ways and means committee, said. “In the back of my mind, I was always worried we’d get nothing. The main thing we were able to get was the House and Senate to understand we would be back every year (to get more money). We knew all along it would be a multi-year project, and we will be coming back next year.”
The Riverwalk extension made it into a $250 million bond bill that included almost $50 million for projects in the Golden Triangle — the bulk of which will benefit higher education institutions.
Plan also includes 1,000-seat amphitheatre
The planned three-lane Riverwalk trail extension — which would include separate paths for walking, jogging and biking — would connect to the existing 2.2-mile Riverwalk and connect with Columbus Air Force Base at Highway 373. Per project plans, the trail would pass through the Stennis Lock and Dam area and Dwayne Hayes Park, with designated exercise and play areas placed every two miles along the path.
Columbus Mayor Robert Smith said the planned project also included a 1,000-seat amphitheatre across the Tombigbee River from the park at the Riverwalk. The amphitheatre will be named for late state Sen. Terry Brown. That alone, the mayor said, would cost about $3 million.
Rep. Smith said he championed the bill as a way to better connect CAFB with the Columbus community, as well as help raise the base’s quality of life rating in the eyes of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC). BRAC has identified quality of life as one of two of the base’s critical deficiencies.
The representative said the $2.25 million bond appropriation this year would cover design and engineering costs for the project, as well as initial work on building the amphitheatre.
“The fact that we got $2.25 million this year means we’ll probably get $6 million or $7 million next year,” Rep. Smith said. “It would have been good to get extra funds, but honestly, we wouldn’t have been able to spend all $5 million (the requested annual share) in 12 months.”
Though the bond appropriation leaves no guarantee for the project’s completion, the mayor said he’s grateful the city is positioned to receive $2.25 million.
“That’s the chance you take,” he said. “Personally, I’m humble and thankful to receive what we did. Hats off to our representative for fighting to the end and to our (Golden Triangle) delegation in the Legislature who supported it.”
Mayor Smith plans to meet with “stakeholders” for the Riverwalk extension project — namely city and CAFB officials, representatives with the Corps of Engineers and city project manager J5 Broadus — today to discuss phasing and priorities. The city has until July 1, 2019 to spend the funds, Smith said.
Upgrades to City Hall, new equine center
The bond bill also includes $500,000 for interior renovations at Columbus City Hall and $1.2 million to build a Lowndes County Equine Center on property near the Golden Triangle Regional Airport.
Mayor Smith said the city received $578,000 in state funds last year for exterior upgrades to city hall, which will soon be underway. He said the city would seek $500,000 more from the state next year to complete the estimated $1 million project on the interior.
The planned equine center will include an open arena and a meeting center to host events like agricultural seminars, according to Lowndes County Extension Service agent Reid Nevins. The LINK donated the 25-acre project site to the county, and while Nevins said 4-H would heavily utilize the facility, he hopes it will have regional appeal for both youth and adult events. Nevins said the county had asked for $1.5 million from the state for the center.
“That ($1.2 million) will get it going,” Nevins said. “That’s not 100 percent of what we need, but it’s a good start. The sky is the limit when you have a facility like this. It will definitely be used.”
On the higher education front, the bond bill includes $10 million for the Center for Manufacturing Technology Excellence at East Mississippi Community College in Mayhew, $6.5 million for the Mississippi University for Women (including $1 million for a new physical plant warehouse), and $25.1 million for Mississippi State University (split between an engineering complex and an agriculture building for animal/dairy and poultry sciences).
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 31 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
