NATCHEZ, Miss. — Nine new police officers Tuesday took their oaths of duty, which Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson said is the largest number in memory and helps alleviate the manpower shortage the Natchez Police Department has suffered in recent years.
The mayor officiated over the swearing-in ceremony held during the Board of Aldermen’s meeting at the Natchez Council Chambers.
Other news from Tuesday’s board meeting, the last scheduled as the mayor and aldermen approach the end of 2021:
— Aldermen approved plans to place new benches on the Broadway Street observation deck overlooking Silver Street and the Mississippi River. The old wooden seats there will be replaced by sturdier metal benches like those lined along the bluff pathway. The Natchez-Adams County Community Alliance will pay for the new benches with private donations. The old benches will be moved to grassy areas along the bluff.
— Renovations of Natchez parks continue in their early phases that include removing deteriorated, dangerous playground equipment and getting architects to draw up plans for restoring the Duncan Park golf clubhouse and the North Natchez Youth Center.
The board voted Tuesday to spend $2,000 to get someone to remove playground equipment. For the park buildings’ renovations, city officials have contracted Natchez architect Johnny Waycaster to draw up new designs for the North Natchez Youth Center, which the mayor said could be designated an official state historic landmark because of its significance in Black history.
Eupora architect Belinda Stewart is designing changes for the Duncan Park golf clubhouse, another historical landmark the city is working to preserve. Stewart specializes in renovating historic buildings.
The Board of Aldermen this past summer borrowed $2 million for park improvements.
— The Sergeant Prentiss Drive bridge crossing over Liberty Road has a much-needed pressure washing by the Mississippi Department of Transportation. The mayor said Tuesday the cleaning was underway for the grim-covered overpass. “We’re so grateful to see that happen,” Gibson said.
— Gibson said the Natchez Visitor Center is the “lousiest” and in dire need of federal funds for renovations. The Board of Aldermen deeded the building to the National Park Service last year because the city couldn’t afford to maintain it. Saying the facility was given away as “a Volkswagen with no tank of gas,” Gibson expressed hopes the National Park Service will get more money for necessary improvements.
Now operated by the Natchez National Historical Park, the 24-year-old visitor center has recently had a $500,000 reroofing project underway. Also on the to-do list is an air-conditioning overhaul that’s estimated to cost about $3 million. Gibson said the restrooms are also in bad condition.
— The mayor and aldermen shared holiday greetings and looked back on the ups and downs of 2021 as they held their last scheduled meeting of the year. “I’ve never seen so many things happen in one year,” said Alderman Sarah Carter Smith, a nine-year member of the city board.
–The mayor and board heard a report from American Medical Response, Natchez-Adams County’s ambulance service, showing its responders reach medically distressed people in town within 10 minutes after being called 85 percent of the time. AMR manager Tim Houghton said it has five ambulances posted throughout the city and county on standby for calls.
— Aldermen accepted a $55,000 federal grant for buying police radio equipment and a police vehicle. The money is from U.S. Department of Homeland Security funds the city applied for.
— Aldermen agreed to borrow $2 million from Delta Bank to help carry the city through early next year, when 2022 taxes start being collected to enable the city to repay the tax anticipation loan at a 1.49 percent interest rate. The board earlier this month had voted to borrow from Concordia Bank at a 1.39 percent rate but later learned that number was an error and had actually been a costlier payback rate (1.89 percent) than Delta’s.
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