NATCHEZ, Miss. – A list of Natchez streets to be repaved is expected to be approved later this month by city aldermen with $6 million they’re borrowing through bonds.
Discussions Tuesday by the mayor and aldermen focused on whether the work should be equally divided among the six wards or be prioritized based on what streets are the most needy regardless of where they are in the city.
City Public Works director Justin Dollar said he has compiled a list of streets to overlay that “has no bearing on wards. It’s based strictly on streets.”
Alderman Sarah Carter Smith of Ward 3 said the $6 million should be allocated “based on need and not what I want in Ward 3” or what other aldermen wish for in their particular wards.
Street conditions and the amount of traffic should be factored in as the board “concentrates on the streets that really, really need work,” said Alderman Billie Joe Frazier of Ward 2.
The board agreed to finalize the list of streets to resurface at an Oct 25 meeting so contractors can be hired to do the work expected to start sometime next year.
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While confidence has been foiled for Natchez-Adams County to have an airliner serving the community by now, Mayor Dan Gibson expressed hope it’ll come by next spring.
Gibson said he and other local leaders are “ever closer to getting commercial air service.” Along with Southern Airways, he said, other carriers have expressed interest in connecting Natchez-Adams County with airports in Dallas or Houston.
“A lot of work is going on behind the scenes, but we’re going to get there,” said the mayor, who noted he’s flying to a Las Vegas conference next week to meet with airline executives.
Natchez-Adams County was awarded a $750,000 federal grant in July that’s considered essential to bringing regular air-passenger service to the community after decades without a commercial airline. The government subsidy is to ensure an airline makes money serving the local airport. It’s being combined with $500,000 in city-county funds.
Southern Airways executive Mark Cestari had said in July the subsidy could help initiate service to the Natchez-Adams County Airport as soon as October.
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The city will seek contractors to build two tennis courts at Duncan Park as part of the city’s multimillion-dollar recreation upgrade. The new courts will add to the eight there now. The board voted Tuesday to move forward in soliciting builders’ bids.
Aldermen did reject bids Tuesday for putting artificial turf on two Duncan Park baseball fields. They said the proposals were too expensive. New bids will be sought from turf installers.
City parks are also being enhanced with new playground equipment being installed now. Hopes are for the equipment to be ready to play on by early November, said Parks & Recreation Director Sonora Cole. In the meantime, the public is being warned not to play on the new equipment because they’ve not been securely put in place.
The city board has allocated $3 million borrowed through bonds for various recreation projects.
The grounds of the city-owned Auburn mansion at Duncan Park have also been cleared of kudzu and other overgrowth to enhance its appearance.
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The mayor swore in eight new Natchez police officers that included veterans returning to the NPD and four recent police academy graduates. The board last month approved pay raises for police officers to help recruit more. The NPD has suffered staff shortages because of low pay.
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