It is said the wheels of justice turn slowly.

So, apparently, do the wheels of the federal bureaucracy as Vicksburg and Warren County officials are learning as they try to get a decision from the National Park Service regarding the Golding family’s donation of land for a new Riverfront Park. The delay is gumming up the process that would allow the city and county to accept the Goldings’ donation and plan and develop the new park.

To set the stage for this particular drama, we have to go back to February 2020, when a series of strong storms moved through Warren County, dumping significant rain in the area and causing erosion problems at the former Riverfront Park, which had two landslides on the riverbank and two on the hillside that covered the road in two spots. The damage forced officials to close the park after it was determined it was not feasible to repair the problems.

Before it was closed, the former Riverfront Park was one of the most used recreation facilities in the city. It had playground equipment, a walking trail and picnic pavilions. On most weekends and holidays, the park was full of families and groups using the facilities.

Closing the park started officials on a search for a new Riverfront Park site, and the Golding family donated a 5.5-acre tract east of the Golding Barge Lines office to the city to use as a park.

But there was one slight hitch before the city and county could begin developing the site.

Because the former park was developed with federal Land and Water Conservation funds, the National Park Service must review the proposed donation to ensure the swap is equal or greater in value to the former park. That meant if the value of the Golding property was less than the old park, the city and county must reimburse the conservation funds to the Park Service. City officials believe the Golding property is worth more than the former park site.

The paperwork to get the National Park Service’s blessing on the property exchange was filed in November 2022. Since then, neither the city nor the county has received word about their application’s progress. That spurred Mayor George Flaggs Jr. to seek some high-powered help by asking the state’s Congressional Delegation to help the Park Service expedite the approval process.

“As it stands today per the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, the submitted conversion package has not been reviewed or approved by NPS,” Flaggs wrote in a letter to each member of the delegation. “Apparently, the NPS alleges they do not have the necessary staff to process the conversion requests received.”

The mayor is making the right move. If you can’t get it done through the standard process, then it’s time to do an end run to accomplish your goals. And it’s time our state delegation do what we elected them to do — support and help its constituents with their problems. A new Riverfront Park is needed and the folks in Washington need to help clear the path for its development.