A special meeting of the Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen scheduled for today to discuss a proposed recreation complex that will cost about $20 million has been delayed, Mayor Paul Winfield said this morning.

He said the board will discuss the proposed bill at its regular meeting on Tuesday.

Today’s meeting was to have dealt with a proposal to ask the Mississippi Legislature for approval to increase hotel and food and beverage taxes to fund the sports park at an undisclosed location.

Winfield wants to borrow about $20 million to buy land and develop the park. He wants to increase the city’s 2 percent hotel tax by an additional 2 percent and add a 1.5 percent tax on food and beverages to fund the proposed sports park.

It was the third time Winfield has postponed discussion on the bill and the sports complex. He initially planned to discuss the bill at the board’s Feb. 6 meeting, but pulled it from the agenda. He then called a special meeting for Thursday, but later moved it to today.

The board met on Feb. 7 with state Rep. Alex Monsour and state Sen. Briggs Hopson to discuss the bill that would be presented as local and private legislation. The board met again Wednesday at the request of North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield to discuss the bill and the referendum required by state law to levy the tax increases.

Former Vicksburg Mayor Demery Grubbs, a financial consultant for Government Consultants Inc. of Jackson, participated in the discussion.

The board also discussed the future of 200 acres the city bought for $325,000. Intended as a sports complex, the site was abandoned by the city in 2009 after an additional $2.7 million had been spent for preliminary plans, engineering and dirt work.

Winfield has said that the Fisher Ferry site was not suitable, saying part of the property, including the access route, is in a flood zone.

Last week and on previous occasions, Winfield said he wants to sell the Fisher Ferry site for residential development.