The Lincoln County Multi-Purpose Complex Commission is makingstrides in its efforts to upgrade the facility and its surroundinggrounds.

At Monday’s Lincoln County Board of Supervisors meeting,Commission Chairman Pat McCullough discussed concerns with thelivestock arena’s floor. He said the floor is not conducive to anyhorse-related activity at the arena.

“The vast majority of the arena is original landscaping,”McCullough said. “Drop a load of sand here, drop a load there …it’s not keeping with any equestrian discipline.”

McCullough raised the possibility of laying a new surface usingriver-washed sand.

McCullough informed the board that about 280 yards of the newsand, at $10 per yard, would be necessary to cover the arena floor.It would take an estimated 20 truckloads of sand, with a $5 peryard trucking price, to do the job.

However, McCullough told the board that he had a contact inLawrence County that owned land with a stream that may be able toprovide the river-washed sand at no cost to the county. McCulloughsaid he would know more from his source by Wednesday.

If the source is able to provide the sand, then the county wouldneed only to pay for the price of transporting it. McCullough askedthe board to provide county truck assistance if needed.

Following the meeting, Quinn Jordan, the facility’s manager,elaborated on the current arena floor’s problems and pointedspecifically to the difficulties the clay causes with equestrianbarrel races.

“There’s too much clay,” he said. “The clay packs down andcreates a hard-pan under the dirt that causes the horses to slipand fall. Also, it doesn’t hold moisture. We have to moisten itconstantly.”

Jordan said river-washed sand does not pack as much, holds moremoisture and lasts longer between drags. He said the arena staff iscurrently having to drag the arena floor too often, creating astrain on manpower.

Elsewhere on facility grounds, supervisors approved a low bid toclear slightly more than 17 acres of land near the buildings. Thelow bid was submitted by WS Construction, which agreed to make thepreviously logged, cut-over acreage usable for $14,995 – a rate of$880 per acre.

“There was quite a menagerie of bids submitted for the project,”said McCullough. “It’s a performance before pay bid. If they (WSConstruction) don’t perform, they don’t get paid.”

Clearing duties are getting a boost from the heavy equipmentclass from Copiah-Lincoln Community College. The class is alreadyon-site, operating four heavy machines to clear almost seven of the17 acres.

“It’s an effort that helps both sides of the fence,” saidJordan. “The class gets experience, and we get help with manpower.It’s been a tremendous help to us.”

Once the class and the company complete their tasks, the newlysmoothed acreage may become home to a baseball field complex.However, the option remains open due to funding uncertainty andother issues.