Vicksburg residents will get their first look at the recommended site and design for the city’s proposed $20 million multipurpose recreation complex at a 5:30 p.m. public hearing Thursday in the Board of Mayor and Aldermen’s meeting room at the City Hall Annex.

 

Mayor George Flaggs Jr. announced the hearing at the board’s meeting Monday.

 

“I’ve said it before, ‘Everything about this sports complex will be transparent,’” Flaggs said. “I don’t have secrets and I don’t intend to start keeping them.”

 

The public hearing will follow a meeting earlier Thursday between board and representatives from Sunrise Beach, Mo.-based Diamante Global/JCI Holdings LLC to discuss their recommendations for the complex site and design.

 

The board hired Diamante Global/JCI Holdings in February, about two months after city’s ad hoc committee on recreation on Dec. 15 issued its report to the city that recommended a multipurpose sports complex on 270 acres of land that included baseball and softball fields, 15 soccer fields, 10 tennis courts, basketball and volleyball courts and a multipurpose building with indoor pool.

 

The meeting and the call for the public hearing come on the heels of the Legislature’s approval last week of a local and private bill that would allow the city two levy up to a 2 percent sales tax on hotel room rentals and food and beverage sales in the city to find buying, and the building a sports complex.

 

The bill, which involves only the city, is on Gov. Phil Bryant’s desk awaiting his signature. According to the bill status section on the Mississippi Legislature’s website, the governor is expected to sign it by April 20.

 

“I want to commend the governor, lieutenant governor, the speaker, and the county’s delegation, (Sen.) Briggs Hopson, (Rep. Alex) Monsour and (Rep.) Oscar Denton for passing the sports complex,” Flaggs said. “The sports complex bill was a long time coming, and will be up to the people voting is they want to raise their tourist tax, which consists of restaurant and hotels.”

 

Flaggs did not discuss the consultant report’s findings, but gave an indication of the selected site.

 

“I commend the purchasers of the property we’ve got now, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen at that time,” he said.

 

He also commended former Mayor Paul Winfield, North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield and former South Ward Alderman Sid Beauman.

 

“They birthed this baby, meaning that they had the insight and the foresight to think that what Vicksburg needed was a sports complex, and I hope that by us adopting this resolution and going to the Legislature that this means that as a board we’re committed to see it to fruition,” Flaggs said.

 

He added the board also needed to visit a site in Greenville, S.C., adding, “I’m hoping we can take a trip and see it.”

 

Flaggs said he was considering calling a special referendum on the sales tax in January to avoid getting it confused with issues in the November general election for county and state offices. Under state law, 60 percent of the voters casting ballots in the special election must approve the measure before the city can levy the tax, which will increase the special tax on hotel rooms to a total of 5 percent and an extra 3 percent on food and beverages.

 

The city currently levies a special 2 percent tax on hotels rooms to support the Vicksburg Convention Center, and the county levies an additional 1 percent tax on hotel rooms and food and beverages to support the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau.

 

“Sixty percent is a lot of votes. However, if it’s marketed right, I think you can get that,” he said, adding the city of Canton passed a $33 million referendum for its school system.

Canton, he said, did something unusual in the election by opening only one precinct for the election. He said he was going to ask the board to open examine using only two precincts, one in the North Ward and one in the South Ward for the referendum.

 

“We can save money (on the election) is we opened up the city Auditorium (on Monroe Street), which is a big precinct and can hold all the machines, and the Elks Lodge (on U.S. 61 South), and then you would have a precinct in each ward and we can adjust the books accordingly.”

 

“I think the board has made all the right moves to get to this point,” South Ward Alderman Willis Thompson said. “We’re at a point where we can have some options as far as financing. We’ve looked at locations and as far as design goes I think we need to get some feedback from the public before we go forward. I think the public should make that determination and look into that point.”

 

Concerning the tax increase, Thompson said, “I think that should be left into the hands of people who pay taxes and live the city. I would rather put this in the hands of the public and spend a few thousand dollars than spend millions of dollars on something that the public may or may not want. An investment of this size should be decided by the public.”