Lowndes County plans $1.2 million withdrawal from hospital trust to reduce debt

The Lowndes County board of supervisors will take more than $1.2 million from its hospital trust fund this year to help pay down debt tied to the BankFirst Yards Sportsplex.

The trust was created in 2006 with $30 million the county received from the sale of its hospital. State lawmakers changed the law in 2013 to let Lowndes County invest trust money in stocks and bonds.

At a meeting at the Lowndes County Courthouse, County Administrator Jay Fisher said the trust posted a 5.77% return, or about $2.2 million, over the last fiscal year. That left the fund with a balance of $41.5 million as of Sept. 1.

“Since 2014, the board has elected to withdraw roughly right at $12 million to be used on capital projects for the county,” Fisher said in his report on the fund’s performance. “And in that time, the corpus has grown from $30 million to $40 million. So that’s a total of $22 million that the board has achieved in the trust fund.”

Each budget year, the county can withdraw up to 3% of the investment value, but not if the balance drops, as it did in 2022. The board unanimously approved Fisher’s recommendation to withdraw $1.245 million.

“We’re using that withdrawal to pay off the debt on the sportsplex,” he said. “That’s what the board approved to do when we entered into the debt for the sportsplex, so that’s pretty much where all the funds go for this year.”

With the county also planning to pay off tax increment financing bonds tied to the University Mall development, District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks urged fellow board members to begin considering an expansion of the sportsplex as the county gains more financial flexibility.

“We really need to start that conversation,” Brooks said. “We really need a multi-purpose building and whatever else.”

The $12 million sportsplex off Highway 82 was completed recently and includes eight fields for baseball and softball, along with concession stands, bathrooms, a picnic area and a playground.

Fisher said the original plans also called for a recreation facility, a paved walking track, a walking track and a multi-purpose turfed field.

“I think we all agree that the growth has happened and will probably continue going forward on the industrial development side, but on the community development side, that’s an opportunity for us to continue to add to what we’ve done,” District 4 Supervisor Jeff Smith said.

Some upgrades are already planned. After the meeting, District 2 Supervisor and board president Trip Hairston said the county’s budget for a future fiscal year includes about $1.3 million to add two batting cages at the sportsplex, and the county is also seeking grants to build a cross-country course at the facility.

“People are requesting (batting cages) be placed at the sportsplex, and we think it’ll be a big benefit for the sportsplex,” he said. “There are some tournaments that we probably cannot host currently because we don’t have batting cages.”

Other business

In other action, the board:

• appointed Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Meryl Fisackerly and Russell Young to the Lowndes County Railroad Authority;
• approved Blake Hill to serve on the LINK board; and
• noted the appointment of Ryan Munson to the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau Board, a joint decision made by Hairston and Mayor Stephen Jones.