The resolution passed last week by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen outlining planned improvements for the city’s North Ward is a good move toward helping an area of town that has largely been ignored for several years.

The resolution outlines a series of projects for the Kings area which the city should have been doing over the years but were neglected, like improving the area’s landscaping and eliminating roadside trash and abandoned and derelict vehicles and buildings, some of which have remained vacant since the 2011 spring Mississippi River Flood, and upgrading recreation facilities like Sherman Avenue Park.

Recreation has been one of the main issues for the North Ward, which covers what is known as “Old Vicksburg” — our inner city, which has a large number of young people who cannot get to areas like Halls Ferry Park and Bazinsky Park to play baseball, softball or tennis. The board’s resolution addresses that problem by improving the ballparks at Sherman Avenue and Mission 66 parks, and includes building a tennis court at either Mission 66 Park or at a neighborhood park on Farmer Street, and another at the Kuhn Memorial Hospital property.

The big question is, where’s the money going to come from to make these change?

The city has $100,000 in its $9.2 million capital improvements budget for recreation in the North Ward, but what about the other plans, like a police substation in the Kings community, which has yet to be built because the city is still in negotiations for a site.

And there is the Kuhn property. The board is going to apply for a $250,000 state CAP loan and for a federal brownfields grant to take the buildings down and clean the site. But to qualify for the CAP loan the city has to own the property — it will have to buy the Kuhn property.

The city’s budget is tight and next fiscal year doesn’t look much better. There is no extra money unless the city goes into its $3 million reserve fund, and that would set a bad precedent.

The priorities for the $9.2 million bond issue are set, but can be amended if necessary.

The board’s resolution for the North Ward is ambitious and sorely needed. The question is, has the board made a promise it’s not going to be able to keep?