I’ve struggled with what else this paper could write to help convince people the current Propst Park plan is a bad idea. While The Dispatch’s news reporting on the issue has been down the middle, we have written multiple opinion pieces challenging nearly every aspect of it.

Our criticism of the current Propst plan shouldn’t be misinterpreted as being anti-parks. We just want to see an inspired plan that would transform Propst into a park for all of Columbus to use.

Here are the most frequent questions I’ve been asked in the past week, along with my answers. The online version of this will include links to news articles, in case people want to dig a little deeper when making up their own minds.

What do they want to do at Propst Park?
Safety concerns, poor maintenance and old facilities have plagued the park. The city wants to spend $4.4 million on parks in general, most of it going to Propst. Approximately $2.6 million of the budget will be spent on baseball, softball and T-ball fields at Propst. Another $900,000 will enhance the playground, splashpad, tennis/pickleball/batting cage facilities and other miscellaneous improvements. The balance — roughly $1 million — will go to other community centers and maintenance. A detailed budget for the project can be found on the online version of this column.

Why do you think that’s a bad plan?
Lowndes County is building a $12 million baseball complex and Starkville is building a $20-plus million baseball complex, both state of the art. The day Columbus finishes its Propst Park upgrade, it will still be the most inferior baseball option in the area. With a brand new county baseball complex, why is the city building more baseball fields? Let’s give our children (heck, adults too) other recreation options.

Columbus would be better off abandoning league baseball altogether (city kids can play at the fancy new county complex without special permission) and putting their money and effort into creating a beautiful and unique park with multi-use spaces that appeal to everyone, not just ballplayers. We only need to look to the soccer complex in Burns Bottom for a successful example of such a park.

Why don’t the city and county work together?
The city and Lowndes County have signaled they are open to collaborating on parks. They have applied for a grant that would fund an assessment to identify overlaps and needs, but that is a longer term project. Both city and county would be wise to wait until after that assessment before making large parks investments.

Why are we borrowing more money? Aren’t we in enough debt?
City council has discussed paying as they go on park renovations, but the majority of members currently believe that reworking all the ballfields immediately is the best plan. About $1.4 million is in the bank for parks right now, meaning the remaining $3 million has to be borrowed. The $1.4 million came from a special food and beverage tax, which generates about $400,000 per year for city parks. The city intends to use that tax income to make the payments on the Propst bond. Doing so ties up that food and beverage tax income for 10 years on this one project. What if other park needs arise in the next 10 years?

City debt in 2010 was $9 million. As of April 2023, the city had about $28.5 million in debt, down from a high of $36 million. Due to old debt rolling off, we will be down to $26 million by the end of the year if we don’t borrow any more. The city’s debt limit is about $40 million.

What’s so bad about borrowing this money?
CFO Jim Brigham says the city will pay $1 million in interest and fees on the borrowed $3 million. That’s a big price tag for the debt, especially if you think baseball fields are a poor investment. Borrowing money by itself isn’t bad, but borrowing money for such a tired, unimaginative and, frankly, unnecessary purpose is a waste.

Is it normal for the city attorney to earn a fee when the city borrows money?
Yes. State law allows board attorneys to make up to 1% on the first $500,000; 0.5% on the next $500,000; and 0.25% of the amount above $1,000,000. The bond attorney and others also earn fees when a city borrows money.

What’s up with this petition I’m hearing about?
The city council has passed an intent to borrow the $3 million to primarily fund baseball and softball fields at Propst Park. A petition is circulating in an effort to halt those plans. If 1,500 registered city voters petition the city in the proper way, a referendum will be forced. This means that Columbus citizens will vote on whether to borrow money.

Should I sign the petition?
The petition was created by councilwoman Jackie DiCicco with assistance from the Stennis Institute for Government, and it’s available to sign at City Hall. You don’t have to go throughout the building looking for it; it’s conveniently located just inside the front door. If you don’t like the plan to borrow $3 million — mostly for baseball fields — you should consider signing before Tuesday.

Peter Imes is publisher of The Dispatch. You can email him at [email protected].