The Leflore County Board of Supervisors delayed taking any action Monday on $3 parking fees for events generating 500 or more cars at the Leflore County Civic Center.
The board plans to meet with the Leflore County Civic Center-Agricenter Advisory Board next Monday at 11:30 a.m.
The board will then reach a decision concerning or altering the fee at its March 26 meeting.
Ruben Hughes, promoter of the Millennium Blues Festival, held at the center on March 3, has complained publicly about the parking fee, saying he was not aware of it and many blues fans were upset when the $3 fee was imposed at the festival.
The fee was adopted by the Civic Center board in December. Hughes said he was unaware that it was in effect at the time of his event.
"This is unreal. Nobody knew it. Nobody heard about it. I understand it was put into place in December. Why didn't I know about it?" Hughes asked.
Hughes said the policy of requiring the fee for large events was unfair.
"If you're going to charge one event, you should charge all events. I've got no problem with that - if you're going to charge everyone," he said.
Hughes, manager at WGNL radio station, said the parking fee gave concert-goers the impression he was making money from parking in addition to ticket sales.
"Nobody has been charged for parking except blues people. This is a clear-cut case of extortion," he said in front of the full five-member board.
Hughes, who has promoted blues shows in Greenwood for 15 years, said the economic impact of the shows is significant.
"These blues shows generate a lot of money for Greenwood. Most of our people come from elsewhere - Chicago, New York. When they come here, they spend money," he said.
Since patrons didn't know about the parking fee, Hughes said they were particularly upset about having to pay for parking. "A lot of people probably didn't have $3 for parking," he said.
Allen Hawkins also spoke in opposition to the fee.
He said venues such as Thalia Mara Hall in Jackson, the Washington County Convention Center, the Bolivar County Expo Building, the Clarksdale Civic Auditorium and Jackson's Mississippi Coliseum don't charge for parking.
Also in attendance at Monday's meeting were Andrew McQueen, the center's director; Herman Sullivan, chairman of the Civic Center Advisory Board; and Lee Hall, an Advisory Board member.
Robert Moore, president of the Board of Supervisors, promised to "talk to the Civic Center board and see if they have a cure. We'll get back with you. Hopefully, we can get this done soon."
He said the Advisory Board had good intentions.
"It had to do with the fact that they were up here not too long ago discussing $125,000 in parking renovations," Moore said. "They were probably thinking about ways they could help offset that note, because the taxpayers of Leflore County are going to have to be the people to pay for the repair of the Civic Center parking lot."
"We will get the benefit of the Civic Center board's thinking and we will provide you with that. We will provide an explanation to the general public," he said.
Hughes told the board he won't consider using the Civic Center again if the parking fee remains in place.
"This is what they call free enterprise," Hughes said.
