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NATCHEZ, Miss. – City officials continue to negotiate the planned sale of the Margaret Martin building to developers who envision the former school being renovated into a multipurpose center alongside Dunleith, the antebellum estate on Homochitto Street.

Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson on Tuesday cited a tentative $75,000 purchase price for the city-owned structure built in 1927. However, appraisals of the property’s value will be done before finalizing Margaret Martin’s sale to Dunleith’s owners. They include Mike Blattner of Natchez and New Orleans hotelier Joe Jaeger. They bought Dunleith last November and plan to soon reopen the mansion inn, restaurant and event venue.

Jaeger heads the J Collection, a New Orleans-based company that operates 17 southern hotels and resorts that include the Maison Dupuy and Bourbon Orleans hotels in New Orleans and nearby Nottoway Plantation.

Blattner earlier this month announced their intention to buy Margaret Martin, a state-designated historic landmark built 93 years ago as Natchez High School. The Gothic Revival/Tudor-style building needs extensive restorations and repairs that have been estimated to cost as much as $6 million. Plans are for it to be used for various events, overnight accommodations, a cooking school and other potential utilization.

The Natchez Board of Aldermen on Tuesday officially decided the city-owned facility is not needed as public property and can be sold.

Named after Natchez teacher and principal Margaret Martin, it closed decades ago as a junior-high school and in 1999 became the main site of the annual Natchez Festival of Music. The city, festival organization and state Department of Archives and History have struggled to come up with funds over the years to properly maintain and repair the Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center. City officials have tried to sell it in recent years, but deals fell through.

An alliance of government and private partners was formed last year to revitalize the building. The group — led by Gibson before being elected mayor in July — hired architect Belinda Stewart to design plans for it. She estimated about $6 million is needed to fully refurbish Margaret Martin, including its 650-seat auditorium used for the annual music festival.

NATCHEZ, Miss. — City officials are considering whether to close convenience stores near Cathedral School because criminal activities there have become a “public nuisance.”

Prompted by a shooting last week at the store by the Martin Luther King Street campus, the Natchez Board of Aldermen on Tuesday directed its attorney to look into what steps could be taken to curb crime in the area. Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson said illegal activities there — such as outdoor drinking, drug dealing and prostitution — have “been an ongoing problem for many years.”

Alderman Valencia Hall noted there have been several shootings in that area of north Natchez. “Enough is enough….We’ve got to put a stop to this crime,” said Hall, who noted her nephew was shot and killed several years ago.

At Tuesday’s meeting of the mayor and aldermen, they zeroed in on the Shop and Save convenience store at MLK and Aldrich streets and the nearby Zipy store on MLK, where the mayor said crimes occur “under the noses of their business owners.” He said the stores have become “24-hour unregulated bars.”

Natchez Police Chief Walter Armstrong said the crime rate for that area is “very disturbing,” and he insisted store operators do more to help police ensure the area is safe. He and Gibson said the businesses should hire private security guards, install crime cameras, improve outdoor lighting and report to police any suspected illegal activities on their premises.

Cathedral lead administrator Norm Yvon and St. Mary Basilica assistant pastor Mark Shoffner urged city officials Tuesday to take steps to stifle the criminal activities occurring near the 600-student Catholic school.

The Board of Aldermen voted to get city attorney Brian Callaway to work with Armstrong in developing recommendations on what aldermen can do, which includes whether the stores can be officially declared public nuisances and forced to close.

Callaway noted the city ordinance prohibits stores from selling alcoholic beverages within 200 yards of schools between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. If enforced, loss sales could put Shop and Save out of business operating across the street from Cathedral.

Cathedral parents and administrators have expressed their crime worries to city officials in the past. In 2017, for example, they requested a manned Natchez police car be posted by the campus during peak school-day periods to deter lawbreakers.

Federal prosecutors have charged two men with bank fraud and money laundering in their recent purchases of   Hotel Vue and The Briars in Natchez.

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Newly appointed Adams County Public Defender Jeffrey Harness said he’s selected four attorneys to help him represent people charged with crimes who can’t afford to hire their own lawyers.

Attorneys Lydia Blackmon, Tim Blalock, Zach Jex and Aisha Sanders will be working with Harness, who was appointed by Circuit Judge Lillie Blackmon Sanders as the county’s chief public defender.

At Sanders’ request, the Adams County Board of Supervisors last month agreed to create the public defenders office to replace the previous practice of retaining nine private attorneys the court randomly calls on to represent criminal defendants.

The costs of paying the five attorneys and other expenses is projected at about $320,000 a year. It’s more money than the previous system but is considered a better way to ensure accused criminals’ rights to effective legal representation are secured. Harness said the five attorneys selected are committed to adequately defending their indigent clients.

The attorneys will continue in their private practices, and Harness said he’ll continue serving as a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from Jefferson County.

It’s uncertain how many hours the part-time defenders will be working in Adams County courts. Harness noted Adams County generally has about 30 to 40 criminal cases per court term. He said Blackmon and Sanders will not be representing clients in cases being heard by Judge Sanders, who’s related to the two attorneys.

The board agreed to continue to jointly operate the E-911 system with Natchez for dispatchers taking emergency police, fire and ambulance phone calls. The total annual cost is about $657,000 with the county and city evenly sharing the expenses on a 50-50 basis.

Natchez and Adams County officials continue to reassess their jointly funded recreation program and plan to visit Vicksburg on Friday to see how the city operates its parks and sports venues. While Natchez and Adams County boards consolidated their recreation programs in 2015, the joint venture has not lived up to expectations.

The Board of Supervisors agreed to help the city demolish the old A&P grocery store to make way for an expanded parking lot for the new business that will occupy the now-vacant Regions bank building on Franklin Street. The county will provide heavy equipment and operators for the demolition project. Natchez and Adams County workers are tearing down the long-closed grocery store as part of the accommodations state and local governments are providing to attract Loss Prevention Services and its 200 employees expected to work in the adjacent bank building.

County workers continue their clean-up operations after Hurricane Delta roared through the region Oct. 9. Strong winds downed more than 200 trees, destroyed four houses and damaged 26, according to Adams County officials. They’re planning to get county workers into neighborhoods next week to remove storm debris gathered by residents for curbside pickup, said county road manager Robbie Dollar.

Jack Blaney told county supervisors his plans to organize a “minuteman” group has been “misconstrued” to mean it’ll be promoting “bigotry and hate.” “I never brought that up,” he said, pointing to his previous meeting with the board two weeks ago to discuss his plans to help law-enforcement authorities. Blaney noted then he wanted to donate money to purchase tasers for law officers, and he vaguely mentioned the “minutemen” group he planned to organize in the Kingston area to address public safety. Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten has said he doesn’t want such a group of civilians.

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Private security officers will be patrolling the Natchez bluff area as city officials do more to ensure the popular sunset-viewing venue is safer.

The Board of Aldermen on Tuesday approved hiring the guards after Natchez Police Chief Walter Armstrong said they’re a needed addition to what city police officers do to curb crime in that section of downtown Natchez.

A private security firm will provide two watchmen in the Broadway Street park area overlooking the Mississippi River from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week at least through December. Mayor Dan Gibson estimated the cost will total about $8,400. The money will come from funds the board had budgeted for paying Natchez police officers in slots currently vacant.

It was noted at Tuesday’s board meeting that entrepreneurs developing a new restaurant at the old Broadway Street train depot will also have security staff in the bluff area.

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The city is offering to pay $6,000 as an incentive for people to move to Natchez, buy a home and work remotely. The COVID pandemic has prompted many to work from home rather than commuting to an office.

The Natchez Board of Aldermen on Tuesday agreed to provide incentive money at the request of Chandler Russ, executive director of Natchez Inc., the economic development agency for the city and Adams County. Russ said this program – dubbed “Shift South” – could be an effective way to lure workers who do their jobs at home and don’t want to live in large cities.

The $6,000 would be given to each new qualified Natchez resident who buys a house and commits to living in the city. The money would be paid in increments: $2,500 up front and $300 monthly. It’s uncertain how many new Natchez residents would take advantage of the incentive, Russ said, but there would be a $180,000 cap on the total amount of grants awarded to those who qualify. Property and sales taxes a “Shift South” resident would pay, he said, would exceed the $6,000 local government would provide.

While cities in other states have implemented such programs, said Mayor Dan Gibson, Natchez is the first Mississippi city to offer this incentive.

The board also agreed to develop plans for a tax-reduction program to make downtown Natchez more attractive to residents and business developers who improve their properties. Plans will be drawn for commercial and residential areas to be aligned in an “urban renewal district” with “tax abatements to encourage more investments,” Gibson said.

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The Board of Aldermen agreed Tuesday to let Natchez Manor close off Union Street by the hotel for patrons to party Saturday.

The boutique hotel-restaurant’s block party is in conjunction with the Natchez Balloon Festival that’s taking place this weekend. Located at the corner of Franklin and Union streets, Natchez Manor plans to have two bands on stage with various food-and-drink offerings.

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Natchez aldermen Tuesday authorized the city to borrow up to $1 million to help pay its bills and employees in the next few months while revenues are at a low ebb.

As routinely done in recent years, city officials will use the short-term bank loan to carry Natchez over until property taxes due early next year flow into city coffers. The tax-anticipation loan is expected to be paid back in March, Gibson said.

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The board voted 4-1 Tuesday to increase Alderman Dan Dillard’s salary in his position as mayor pro tempore. He’ll get an extra $1,115 on top of the $22,300 annual salary paid to each alderman.

Gibson noted the city charter calls for additional compensation for the mayor pro tem, who presides over board meetings and other city affairs when the mayor can’t. The six aldermen elected Dillard vice mayor in July when their new term of office began. The previous mayor pro tem – former long-serving alderman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis – lost her Ward 1 re-election bid to Valencia Hall in June. Dillard is now the board’s most senior alderman, having represented Ward 6 for 12 years and now in his fourth term.

Ward 2 Alderman Billie Joe Frazier cast the lone vote against Dillard’s 5 percent pay raise. He said such a salary hike “doesn’t look good” to the public. Dillard abstained from the vote.

NATCHEZ, Miss. – The Board of Aldermen and mayor applauded the work of local government employees along with utility workers helping Natchez get through Hurricane Delta and recovering from its damaging winds.

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Adams County supervisors have agreed to study the feasibility of building a jail to replace the 45-year-old detention facility that’s long been deemed deficient and outdated.

While a plan presented in 2014 estimated the cost at about $7 million for a new jail, supervisors decided Monday to move forward on getting an updated version drafted. Among the various questions to study is where to locate a new jail in or outside the city.

NATCHEZ, Miss. – The Natchez-Adams County Recreation Commission could be disbanded as the programs it oversees remain “in limbo” five years after city and county leaders began to jointly fund enhancements for the community’s parks and sports offerings.

Adams County supervisors on Monday discussed whether to do away with the nine-member commission. The recreation programs it oversees have been in disarray since the YMCA stopped operating them in 2019.

County board President Ricky Gray said they’re in “a wait-and-see phase” as city and county officials continue their discussions on a consolidated recreation program.

The consolidated recreation agreement formed in 2015 called for the county board to annually allocate $334,000 to combine with $550,000 from the city board for the Natchez-Adams County Recreation Commission to appropriate for operating recreation programs each year.

The county and city boards did get a pool built in 2018 for about $1.3 million, but various snags and changes have stalled other upgrades local leaders envisioned when they formed the compact. The Natchez-Adams County Recreation Commission – appointed by county supervisors and city aldermen – contracted the Jackson-based YMCA to manage the recreation program, but the contract was not renewed in 2019.