Following the decision by the City of Vicksburg and the Warren County Board of Supervisors to relinquish the current ownership of Riverfront Park and accept a donation of property from the Golding family, the next steps in the process are underway.
According to Supervisory Board Chairman Kelle Barfield, there are a few legal hurdles to clear before work can begin on the new park.
“We still need permission (from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks) to abandon the park,” Barfield said during Monday’s work meeting. “We will need to get an environmental impact done on the new space.”
Other items to be addressed in the first phase of establishing the new park include a pending request from Kansas City Southern Railroad to ensure that the company has a right of way over its property adjacent to the new land of the Park. A contract for the land donated by Golding Family Land Co. has been drafted and is being reviewed by County Attorney Blake Teller and City Attorney Kim Nailor.
As for the look of the new Riverfront Park, located on Oak Street, Barfield said she would like to see the numbers.
“Basically, there was a one-time-made design that the city had been looking for, and it was beautiful, but it was quite expensive,” Barfield said. “So a discussion was, what would be the minimum convenience to make it an approved transfer to this new space?
“In other words, how can we quantify what it would cost the city and the county to create a park on this space?” she added. “You’re going to have to lay the groundwork, you’re going to have to have something, but like, you don’t have to start with a million-dollar amphitheater.”
Barfield instead shared the idea of starting the project in phases, with phase 1 being the minimum. From there, an eight-person committee appointed by city and county leaders can seek grants and private sponsorships to fund equipment in additional phases.
“What we are proposing as a structure is that each of the five supervisors and the members of the College of Mayor and Aldermen, a total of eight, appoint someone to the committee,” Barfield said. “Of our representatives, one would be the co-chair with the city co-chair.”
Ad hoc members of the committee would be City Manager of Parks, Recreation and Landscaping Rick Daughtry and Chairman of the Warren County Parks and Recreation Commission.
