NATCHEZ — The Titan Tire property might be in business again — but not as a tire factory.

During the Natchez Board of Aldermen’s regular meeting Tuesday, the board went into an executive session to discuss the possibility of attracting an industry to the factory, which hasn’t been in use since 2001.

“We wanted to discuss the possibility of a business locating there,” City Attorney Hyde Carby said.

Carby said the city became aware of Titan’s intent to end its lease with the city recently, which prompted the city to begin looking at potential uses for the property.

Besides yearly tax payments, Natchez gains no profit from the former Titan Tire factory, located at 89 Kelly Ave.

According to the lease agreement between Titan Tire and the city, the lease payment was designed to cover the repayment of a $7 million revenue bond issued in 1987 when Condere Corporation owned the factory.

When Condere Corporation filed for bankruptcy in 1997, Titan Tire purchased the building’s assets and inherited the lease agreement.

Carby said the original bond has since been paid off.

Since the bond has been paid, the only form of revenue Titan has produced for the city has been in tax dollar revenue.

In 2014, Titan paid $5,238.85 in tax money to the city.

“It’s not very much,” said city tax collector Peter Burns.

Before the factory and the 33 acres it sits on can officially be passed back to the city, Carby said Titan must first meet a list of requirements established by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).

Most of those standards, Carby said, are meant to ensure that the property is given back in a marketable fashion so the city can easily sell the building.

Natchez Inc. Executive Director Chandler Russ said right now, what kind of industry would be the best use for the former factory is to be determined.

First, Russ said Natchez Inc. must meet with representatives from Titan Tire.

“From there, I guess our game plan is to develop a transition for the property, which should include phase 1 information,” Russ said. “I would think probably by the end of the year, we would have the property sold and a plan set for its future.”

Because there is no longer a substantial need for a large factory in Natchez, Russ said there is a possibility that the city would demolish the building.

How much that would cost, however, is to be determined, Russ said.

“It is a ginormous building,” he said. “(The cost to demolish the building) would depend on how much useable material is in there, like steel and copper and things along those lines. It would have to be bid out.”

Ideally, Russ said he would like to see the city, MDEQ and Titan come to a resolution quickly that would ultimately benefit the city.

“We’re not sure yet what the MDEQ will find when they do their inspection,” Russ said. “That will affect the timeline on when the city will be able to get the property back, and begin looking at selling it.”

Natchez Mayor Butch Brown said although the property represents decades of employment for Natchez, and was the first industry built in the state under the Balancing Agriculture with Industry program, the factory’s usefulness has expired.

Brown said once the MDEQ clears the property and the building is back in city hands, he would like to see it become a surplus property and sold for profit.

All attempts to reach a representative with Titan Tire were unsuccessful.