Riverwalk hot topic at supervisor breakfast
By Gregg Mayer
Dispatch Staff Writer

Describing the proposed Columbus-Lowndes Riverwalk along the Tennessee-Tombigbee River as a "danger zone," a Lowndes County supervisor made it clear Tuesday morning he will not vote to support the $1.3 million project.

"I feel very strongly I cannot support that," said District 4 Supervisor Joe Brooks. "I think we'll be asking for a lot more that what we bargained for."
Columbus Councilmen voted several weeks ago to approve applying for a federal grant to fund 80 percent of the project. The remaining 20 percent is a match to the grant, and city officials are hoping the county will foot half of it.

But Brooks said he doesn't think the Riverwalk will be used enough by the public, and it will become a haven for "drug heads."

The proposed Riverwalk will connect Riverside Park to the Highway 82 bridge heading toward Starkville. Columbus Councilman Chuck Weldon was the only city official to oppose funding the project.

"I think we'll create a home for the homeless people," Brooks told a crowd gathered for the Columbus-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce's Breakfast with the Board of Supervisors inside The Landmark Hotel. "I've been out at night. There are some weird looking people out there at night."

District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks and District 2 Supervisor Art Neal both said they need to have more discussion about the project before they'll support it.

"I have not decided whether I'll support this," Neal said. "There are a lot of questions I need to have answered," such as upkeep, the light bill and how many police officers will be needed to patrol it.

Leroy Brooks noted even if the grant is awarded, it could be as long as two years before the implementation of the project.

Following a brief series of questions from the audience on Tuesday, supervisors each had an opportunity to briefly lay out past goals of their administration and what they - all of them are running for re-election this year - will accomplish in the years to come.

The Chamber's breakfast was the last legislative breakfast this year, said Jim Kirkley, chairman of the Chamber's government and transportation committee.