NATCHEZ, Miss. – The mask-wearing mandate in Natchez remains in effect adhering to what the governor and Adams County supervisors have ordered.
The city-imposed requirement for wearing masks expired Tuesday as Natchez aldermen opted to follow the extended mandate the Adams County Board of Supervisors put in place countywide into Sept. 8. Gov. Tate Reeves enacted a similar mask order statewide until next Monday or beyond if extended.
“The city is still under a mask mandate” as imposed statewide and countywide, said Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson. “The city of Natchez, from this point forward, is under the authority of the governor and (county emergency management officials)” regarding orders to wear masks.
He said Natchez and Adams County will be unified as one governmental entity managing the COVID-19 crisis locally.
People must wear some type of cover over their mouth and nose inside businesses and at outside venues where crowds gather and can’t socially distance. There are various exceptions, such as in restaurants and during physical activities.
People caught by police not wearing masks as required can be fined $50, according to the local ordinance. Businesses can be fined $100 for letting customers be unmasked.
This comes as more people continue to be infected by the highly contagious respiratory disease that’s plagued the world since early this year. In Adams County, 632 residents have been infected by the coronavirus since March, according to the state Department of Health’s daily COVID-19 report. That’s up by 48 from the 584 cases reported a week ago. The number of reported coronavirus deaths remains the same as last week: 25 Adams County residents.
As government leaders struggle to protect public health with various crowd-limit restrictions and mask-wearing requirements, pockets of protests have flared up. Alcorn State University horticulture professor Barry Bequette of Natchez told Gibson and aldermen Tuesday that mask mandates infringe on people’s civil liberties. However, the mayor said the public must be encouraged to wear face coverings to curb the spread of the virus while businesses remain open.
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City officials are hopeful the Natchez-Vidalia bridges will illuminate again with new decorative lights to replace those installed in 2010 that deteriorated and were removed.
Aldermen voted Tuesday to urge the Mississippi Department of Transportation to pay for installing new lights. Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson said he’s received a “verbal commitment” for this from MDOT Executive Director Melinda McGrath, but no final approval has been given yet by the agency’s three-member commission.
Aesthetic lights were installed on the two Mississippi River bridges 10 years ago by MDOT at a reported $3 million cost footed largely by federal funds. The lights gave the bridges an icy glow that made them a sightseeing marvel. However, the lighting system was problem-prone with occasional outages and other glitches. MDOT took the lights off during a bridge-refurbishing project completed in 2018.
Gibson said he envisions the new lights to be more efficient LED bulbs that will be more durable and not as difficult to maintain.
The plan is for Vidalia – which has its own hydroelectric plant — to power the bridge lights while Natchez will do the maintenance work. Vidalia Mayor Buz Craft, who met with Gibson and Natchez aldermen Tuesday, said he expects the Vidalia Board of Aldermen will approve the plan.
Gibson said he and former Natchez mayor Butch Brown – also a former MDOT executive director – have been lobbying state transportation officials in recent months and will continue toward finalizing an agreement. It’s uncertain how much it’ll cost to install and maintain the bridge lights, but Gibson said fewer would be needed because the light-emitting diodes are brighter than the older bulbs.
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The city’s tax collections are falling behind, but they’re not lagging as much as earlier feared when the coronavirus pandemic began stifling economic activities five months ago, said Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson.
He noted city sales taxes generated in May totaled about $473,000, down only by about $9,000 from May 2019.
“Our economy is back open and it is going strong despite our challenges,” Gibson said Tuesday at the city Board of Aldermen meeting.
The May slump in revenues is not as steep as what the city endured in March and April, when the Board of Aldermen ordered Natchez businesses deemed nonessential to close their doors as the COVID-19 crisis spiked. Natchez residents were directed to stay home as much as possible except to shop for groceries, visit health-care providers and tend to other vital needs. The board began easing back on the business restrictions April 30.
This shutdown contributed to Natchez’ year-to-date sales tax collections being about $200,000 below what had been collected by this time in 2019, according to the state Department of Revenue’s most recent report for the fiscal year that began July 2019.
The recession also resulted in job losses in Adams County. There were 1,310 unemployed people in June, up from the 770 in January, according the state Department of Employment Security.
Tourism-related revenues have also taken a hit due to the pandemic-induced recession. Special taxes collected at Natchez restaurants and hotels are down by about $220,000 compared to 2019, according to the state Department of Revenue’s most recent year-to-date report.
The state revenue reports do not yet have an accounting of sales taxes Natchez businesses collected in June and July.
Gibson said the Magnolia Bluff Casino in Natchez is generating some revenues for the city despite being limited in the number of patrons allowed inside during the virus contagion. The $54,000 generated for the city in gaming taxes in the most recent month reported is $17,000 below what Magnolia Bluffs collected the same month last year, he said.
Gibson – who took office as mayor July 24 – expressed optimism about Natchez’ economy. “This is a new day in Natchez even in a pandemic year,” he said.
The mayor noted the new owners of Dunleith – the antebellum tourist attraction that went bankrupt and closed in 2019 – continue plans to reopen after investing $1 million into the bed-and-breakfast mansion, restaurant and event venue. The J Collection, a New Orleans-based hotel group, purchased Dunleith in November 2019.
Gibson also said the new owners of Smoot’s and Steampunk also plan to reopen the popular gathering places on Broadway and High streets. Movie producers Tate Taylor and John Norris had planned to resurrect Smoot’s Grocery as a music bar/eatery and reconfigure the nearby Steampunk coffee bar as a full-fledged restaurant renamed The Little Easy Bistro. However, the coronavirus crisis stalled their developments.
