City voters to weight on 3% dining/lodging tax for sportsplex, park upgrades
A referendum on an additional 3 percent sales tax on Columbia hotels and restaurants for parks and tourism has been set for Monday, May 6.
The Board of Aldermen unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday scheduling the election, which is for city residents only. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the normal municipal voting precincts.
If it passes by at least 60 percent, the tax will take effect July 1.
Funds would be used to “promote tourism and parks and recreation,” according to the resolution, and Mayor Justin McKenzie says the first priority is to build a youth sports complex.
The sportsplex, which has been discussed for decades at various locations, would be on city-owned property on R.A. Johnson Drive. McKenzie said the city owns everything from the tennis courts near City Park to R.A. Johnson Drive and then over to near the Magnolia Grille.
He said the first priority for using the sales tax revenue would be the design, construction and maintenance of the sportsplex, which he anticipated would be operational within 24 months.
Then other areas related to parks and tourism could be funded based on priorities set by the Board of Aldermen and citizen input, McKenzie said.
Those include:
• Basic upgrades at City Park to repair broken wood and similar things on the Friendship Park playground
• Matching a portion of a Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks grant for a walking trail at Duckworth Park. McKenzie said they will follow through with that either way but it will save money from the general fund for other uses if the tourism tax passes. Other work at Duckworth would include better lighting, revarnishing floors at the Duckworth Center and a restroom upgrade.
• Seeking grant money to repair the three tennis courts on the north side of City Park, using the sales tax money for a match. The mayor said the tennis teams from all four high schools in the county use those facilities.
• Electrical upgrades for continuing the Christmas lighting downtown
If the city sees a positive impact from the sports complex that generates more revenue than anticipated, the city has other ideas, McKenzie said. Those include a splash pad and additional green space downtown, installation of a Wi-Fi system donated to the city from a local university and upgrades to Bluff Street Park.
McKenzie said he plans to tour sports complexes in Magee, Brookhaven and possibly Brandon to get ideas about how they are operated. He said he would like to hire an athletics director to oversee the complex and eventually have a community center somewhere in the area.
Gov. Phil Bryant on Wednesday signed Senate Bill 3118, which allows the referendum on the tax, after the Legislature passed it in March. The 3 percent would be on top of the state’s 7 percent sales tax and would apply to hotel rooms and restaurants only. More than 70 counties and cities in the state have such taxes, including nearby cities like McComb, Hattiesburg, Picayune, Brookhaven and Laurel.
According to the Mississippi Department of Revenue, there were $25.9 million in sales in Columbia during fiscal year 2018 for “accommodations and food services.”
Taking 3 percent of that would equal out to more than $700,000 per year.
