Video: CLRA Meets, No Decision Made On Future

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI-TV) – Talks continue this week about whether the Columbus Lowndes Recreation Authority has a future or if it will be gone by this fall.

While nothing is set in stone, county leaders met with Columbus leaders and CLRA to discuss what could be ahead.

The two sides have held informal meetings as they try to figure out if the agreement will end. The meetings have been private, just under the number of elected officials needed for a quorum.

Lowndes County Administrator Ralph Billingsley says the board of supervisors has not voted to officially end the agreement and is still considering other options.

Sources tell WCBI there are enough votes on the board to make that happen.

What the county has done is voted this past fall to give the city a one-year notice that it intends to end the agreement, meaning it could end this fall.

Mayor Robert Smith declined to talk about the issue.

Multiple sources tell WCBI options range from the city getting a portion of tax money that city residents pay to the county and is in the recreation budget, which is about $240,000 annually, or it could include no money at all or everything in between.

They’re also discussing who will control the soccer complex.

The last public meeting on the issue was October third. Supervisors could bring up the issue in the next couple weeks.