NATCHEZ, Miss. – Aldermen approved plans for building a city dog park for Natchez that’s to be funded with private dollars at Duncan Park.
The selected site is between the Carroll-Jones baseball field and the park’s central pavilion.
The Natchez-Adams County Community Alliance plans to fund the dog park’s construction with private donations, said group leader John Holyoak.
“It’s going to be nice. It’s not going to just be a cyclone fence and a big square,” he told Mayor Dan Gibson and the Board of Aldermen. “This is going to be another asset for the city of Natchez.”
With the board’s approval Tuesday of the proposed site, Holyoak said the Community Alliance will begin to raise funds for the dog park.
The 24,800-square-feet site will be maintained by the city, said Natchez Parks & Recreation Director Ryan Porter, who presented the mayor and aldermen with the dog park plans that will adhere to national standards for such facilities.
There will be segregated sections for small and large dogs, Porter said. The nearby existing pavilion will provide a “central gathering place for outdoor recreation-minded people” who want to bring their dogs or take advantage of Duncan Park’s various offerings, he said.
In other action Tuesday, aldermen acknowledged the Duncan Park Golf Clubhouse’s ongoing restoration is scheduled to be completed next March. The timetable had to be extended because of delays in getting electrical equipment and other fixtures for the building, said city Community Development Director James Johnston.
The city-owned building – a state historic landmark – is being renovated at a cost of about $1 million. Hope Enterprises got the contract last January after previous bids exceeded what Natchez aldermen and the mayor had earmarked for it. The work is being paid for with money borrowed by the city through a bond issue and private funds raised from donors.
Built in 1948, the structure has been designated by the state as a Mississippi Landmark that has fallen in disrepair. It was originally a U.S. Navy Reserve center, later became the University of Southern Mississippi’s Natchez campus and finally converted into the Duncan Park Golf Course facility.
Aldermen on Tuesday agreed to seek bids for the golf pro shop’s interior millwork. They approved the purchase last month of new furniture for the clubhouse lounge.
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