NATCHEZ — The next move toward a countywide recreation program will be up to the three agencies that created the Natchez-Adams County Recreation Commission, commission chair Tate Hobdy said.

The Adams County Board of Supervisors and the Natchez Board of Aldermen approved the extension of the inter-local agreement that created the commission this week, and a recreation commission member will be taking it to the NASD this afternoon for approval.

Hobdy said the agreement is the same as it was when the commission was formed in 2008, except for two changes.

The first change to the agreement is that it is extended for five years rather than three. The second change was to strike a requirement for a non-binding referendum to gauge public interest in a countywide recreation complex.

“The original (agreement) required a vote, and we did that in 2009,” Hobdy said. “We also wanted to see if we could do it for five years instead of three to keep from having to keep coming back (to the boards).”

In January, the recreation commission made a presentation to the three boards of the proposed complex, and Hobdy said at that time the board had asked the commission to supply them with more information about the potential strengths and weaknesses of the proposed complex.

The requested report was recently completed by OAN Marketing and will be available in the next couple of weeks after it is revised, Hobdy said.

“Because (the commission has) an ex officio member from each board, we may present the report to that member and have them present it to their boards,” he said. “That might be easier than trying to get everybody in a room, but we will possibly present the report to each board.”

Because the recreation commission exists at the behest of the three boards, Hobdy said any future forward motion on the project will be at the behest of the boards.

A move taken by the supervisors earlier this week is a start, Hobdy said.

“The board of supervisors did away with the Adams County Recreation Board, and when (the commission) is ready and moving forward, we will take that off their plates,” he said. “At least they are doing something. They took a step in the right direction.”

The recreation commission, a volunteer board, has nine appointed members. The NASD school board, the supervisors and Natchez aldermen each appoint three members.

Each board also appoints one of its own members to serve as an ex officio member of the commission.