COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP) - A Mississippi city hopes to finish an amphitheater in the next 18 months, but is looking to lawmakers for state money or permission to resume collecting a tax.
Columbus City Engineer Kevin Stafford tells The Commercial Dispatch that the city built a stage using $3.2 million lawmakers borrowed and gave to Columbus.
But another $2.5 million is needed to build 1,100 hard-backed seats, fencing, restrooms, concession stands and ticket booths.
City officials hope lawmakers will borrow more money for remaining work. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jeff Smith, a Columbus Republican, says the city could also use money from a renewed 2 percent restaurant tax. The previous tax expired after officials disagreed on renewal terms.
The amphitheater is named for late state Sen. Terry Brown, who died in 2014.
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Information from: The Commercial Dispatch, http://www.cdispatch.com
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