NATCHEZ — Rentech is shedding a little light on Providence Park.

Supervisor Mike Lazarus said the park — namely the softball field — has never had lights.

In the last week, however, Lazarus said coal-to-liquid plant Rentech has donated all the lights and poles from the former International Paper Company site.

“We’re going to start with putting lights around the softball field,” he said. “But we have hundreds of lights.”

Lazarus said for the past year he was been trying to find lights for the park. He found it would be expensive to equip the field with lights, approximately $60,000.

So he said it’s fortunate that Rentech donated the lights.

He said some of the poles aren’t tall enough to flood light on the softball field, so Lazarus secured a donation of tall poles from Entergy.

Southwest EPA, an electrical installation company, has agreed to put the lights up.

Supervisor Darryl Grennell made a motion at the supervisor’s Monday meeting to place a sign at Providence Park recognizing Rentech for its donations.

The motion passed unanimously.

In other business:

The board approved a request from Emergency Management Director Stan Owens to start advertising for bids on five new generators.

Through a FEMA grant, the county is receiving five generators — three to be designated for emergency shelters and the other two for city sewage lift stations.

Owens said the city and county are responsible for a 5 percent match, which they will split.

He said prices of generators were raised by 20 percent recently, and until he gets the bids in, he’s not sure on the exact amount the county will have to pay.

If prices hadn’t been raised, Owens said the county would pay $6,600.

The board voted to resubmit three sites on county roads for the National Resources Conservation Service Watershed program.

Johnson Circle, Tubman Lane and Lower Woodville Road were submitted for the emergency watershed program — which provides emergency funds to protect infrastructure from floods and erosion.

But they were not approved, Grennell said.

“This time, I would recommend that when (NRCS) does their site visit, some of us go with them,” he said to ensure they get approval.

County Administrator Cathy Walker requested the board lower its mileage rates in accordance with state regulations.

The state just changed the rates from $.58.5 to $.55 per mile.

The board voted unanimously to lower the rate.

Natchez Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis addressed the board about Lewis Drive, which is located in the city, but is a county-owned road.

She said she had City Traffic Director Rick Freeman go out to the road because people are driving faster than the marked 25 mile per hour speed limit.

Mathis said Freeman said people were driving at an average of 39 miles per hour on the road, and that speed was too dangerous.

Mathis said she and Freeman were considering moving the speed limit to 30 miles per hour.

Lazarus said he didn’t feel comfortable with that.

“I wouldn’t be in a hurry to raise the speed limit,” he said. “I want to keep the kids safe.”

County resident Cleotha Marsaw said water run off from Artman Road has been negatively impacting his property.

“You all came out and built the road up way beyond the level of my property,” he said.

And now all the drainage runs off into his yard.

“All that water is gushing down on me, eroding the soil,” he said. “I’m steadily losing soil out there.”

Supervisor S.E. “Spanky” Felter said he would go by Marsaw’s residence and address the problem.

Grennell made three proclamations, two of which were for county residents Geneva Booker and Laura Book Jackson Thompson, who are about to turn 100 years old and the other 105 years old, respectively.

He also congratulated William Terrell with the Bluff City Post for 30 years of publication.

Felter requested that potholes be patched at Low Water Bridge Road, as the road is deteriorating.