NATCHEZ, Miss. – Aldermen on Tuesday approved the Natchez district that’s been drawn to limit medical marijuana dispensaries to the area by Merit Health hospital.
The new zoning ordinance allows medical cannabis pharmacies only where most of Natchez doctors and clinics are concentrated near the hospital on Seargent Prentiss Drive – a district that encompasses Jeff Davis and Highland boulevards along with Tracetown shopping center.
The Board of Aldermen sent the zoning plan last month to the Natchez Planning Commission for it to review.
The Mississippi Legislature in January legalized marijuana that healthcare providers can prescribe to patients with cancer or other serious illnesses.
Mayor Dan Gibson said the city’s new medical district is subject to more revisions as he leads efforts to create a “health care hub” with more medical doctors and facilities. A Natchez medical economic development report was issued last month with recommendations that a city-formed task force is reviewing.
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The board approved contracting a builder to complete the restoration of the North Natchez Park Youth Center. Smith Painting & Contracting was the lowest of two bidders seeking the job, which will total about $825,000.
The board contracted Smith last month to just renovate the deteriorated park building’s exterior and gut the interior for about $350,000. Aldermen delayed a decision until Tuesday on getting Smith to complete the interior’s restoration for an extra $476,000. The board is borrowing money through bonds to finance this.
The North Natchez Park building is considered a significant structure in Black history that the city is trying to get designated as a Mississippi landmark. It’s located near the Robert Lewis Magnet School on Martin Luther King Road.
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The board accepted a $25,000 federal grant to help fund the city’s planned Hiram Revels Plaza honoring the first Black member of Congress. The money will be combined with $30,000 in local funds for the preliminary design work being done for the site at the western end of St. Catherine Street. The next step is to collaborate with the National Park Service to ensure plans comply with the National Historic Preservation Act.
The mayor and aldermen plan to earmark $150,000 for constructing the Hiram Revels Plaza to honor the U.S. senator from Natchez who served Mississippi 1870-71.
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The Board of Aldermen agreed to allocate $15,000 to cleanup the end of Silver Street by the boat ramp as the city prepares for the arrival of two new riverboats. Viking’s riverboat is scheduled to dock in Natchez Aug. 21 during its first Mississippi River voyage, and American Cruise Lines’ newest ship is to be christened here Aug. 30. The Viking Mississippi and American Symphony riverboats are joining several other passenger ships that already come here.
The board also approved reserving bus-parking space by the city’s Proud to Take a Stand monument on Canal Street. The mayor said there will be “quite a number of buses” with riverboat passengers seeing Natchez sites as three cruise lines bring ships on a regular basis: Viking, ACL and the American Queen Steamboat Co.
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Aldermen are reviewing what city streets to repave as they rank their conditions and decide which ones should be part of a $6 million street-improvement project. The board is borrowing money through bonds to finance the work the mayor said should be done next year.
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The board agreed to get a Natchez police officer hired to better enforce the city’s building codes in an effort to ensure construction regulations are followed. The code-enforcement officer previously worked in the city’s building inspection department. Gibson said he wants the city to take a “proactive approach rather than a reactive approach” by having a full-time police officer monitoring properties’ appearance and construction.
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The board appointed Lansen Barrow to the Natchez Preservation Commission and accepted the resignation of Stratton Bull from the Natchez Planning Commission. The commissions regulate the appearance, location and use of properties in the city.
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