Governor Reeves vetoes money for Jackson golf course

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves says he is vetoing taxpayer money that was earmarked to go to expanding LeFleur’s Bluff--money that would have gone toward adding a golf course.

The LeFleur’s Bluff Complex is the shared campus between the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks’ (MDWFP) Museum of Natural Science and the Mississippi Children’s Museum.

The $13.2 million for the project would have come from capital expense funds and had support from Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann, House Speaker Philip Gunn and Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, among others.

Reeves made the announcement at a Thursday press conference where he discussed upcoming plans on infrastructure investments for the state--namely roads, water and sewer.

Reeves listed the $13.2 million among earmarked funds he deemed “inappropriate” ways to spend taxpayer money.

“On countless occasions I’ve expressed the importance of having a strong and safe capital city,” Reeves said. “Rather than spend more money on what Jackson really needs, like more police officers, this appropriation throws millions of dollars into a golf course that has already failed.”

He added that there are already three other golf courses within a short distance.

The plan was to create Otter Creek Golf Park and other outdoor amenities for children and adults. It was to be designed by Robert Trent Jones II, a world-renowned golf architect, and Nathan Crace, a Mississippi-based golf architect.

“Taxpayer funds were put out so that we’d have this kind of a first-class, world-class resort here,” Hosemann said at the announcement event.

Hyde-Smith’s spokesperson sent this statement to WLBT after the governor’s announcement:

Reeves also said he is vetoing $1 million for the Jackson Convention Center to build a parking lot, and another $2 million toward the Russell C. Davis Planetarium.

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