NATCHEZ, Miss. – Funds requested for reroofing the Adams County Courthouse and Natchez City Hall are not among the state historic-preservation grants recently awarded.
The courthouse and city hall got left out from grants approved last week by state Department of Archives and History trustees. However, about $500,000 is going to two other historic Natchez landmarks: the Natchez Institute and Temple B’Nai Israel. (see article previously posted here)
The Adams County Board of Supervisors and Natchez Board of Aldermen had applied for grants from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History for repairing their aged government buildings, but they’re not on the list of 17 recipients from around the state announced Monday.
The county courthouse and city hall have leaky roofs the two boards are struggling to find funds for fixing.
A state-declared Mississippi landmark, the Adams County Courthouse was built around 1820 and extensively remodeled in the 1920s, according to MDAH. Natchez City Hall was built in 1924 by the courthouse and is also a state-designated Mississippi landmark.
Natchez Mayor Darryl Grennell said city officials will try to find other funds for the municipal building’s roof repairs, which has been estimated to cost at least $220,000.
The courthouse’s leaky roof prompted a judge to order county supervisors to pay the costs of moving her judicial office elsewhere. Adams County Circuit Judge Debra Blackwell in October demanded they pay the $400-a-month rent for space at a lawyer’s office across the street from the courthouse. Maintenance workers have been doing piecemeal roof repairs to curb the rain dribble, but it continues unabated into the courthouse.