NATCHEZ, Miss. – Mayor Dan Gibson continues working to secure the multimillion-dollar federal grant the city won last year for downtown revitalization, but it remains in limbo since Donald Trump became president and went on a budget-cutting spree.
While the Republican administration has frozen funds previously earmarked when Democrat Joe Biden was president, Gibson said he’s confident Natchez’ $24.5 million grant is “going to be looked upon very favorably.”
However, he noted the allocation might get cut after U.S. Department of Transportation officials review it.
“We may end up having a few items adjusted or revised. … That will actually reduce the costs of the plan,” Gibson said. “We will have final word on this soon.”
He noted he’s meeting next week with U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker to discuss the grant.
The Biden administration last June awarded Natchez the money for a multifaceted project to enhance an area stretching from Devereaux Drive and St. Catherine Street through downtown Natchez to the city’s scenic bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. Money was earmarked for improving pathways, landscapes, lighting, signage and other transit-related fixtures.
Gibson said Trump’s DOT might rescind parts of the $24.5 million award’s “environmental components.”
The grant was allocated to Natchez a year ago as part of the Biden administration’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program. It focused largely on communities with “persistent poverty” or are “historically disadvantaged.”
In ordering a freeze on billions of dollars in such grants throughout the county, Trump directed his administration to conduct a review to ensure funding is not wasteful, “equity-related” or does not conflict with his conservative agenda.
Trump’s recessions have been challenged in courts throughout the country as judges determine whether the executive orders are legal.
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