NATCHEZ — The penciled-in economic development meeting set for Thursday has now been erased.

Mayor Jake Middleton said last week that he and Adams County Board of Supervisors President Henry Watts had “tentatively” scheduled a joint city-county meeting for 4 p.m. Thursday.

But Middleton said Tuesday that the county had opted out of the meeting.

Middleton said he will now arrange a different time for the board of aldermen to meet with the EDA board on its own.

EDA Chairman Woody Allen was going to present — to both the city and the county — an economic development study recently commissioned by the EDA board.

The study, done by a New York-based consulting firm, was something the city and county expressed interest in hearing at an early February meeting of all three boards.

The study outlines plans to develop economic growth in Adams County, Allen said previously.

Watts could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but Supervisor Mike Lazarus said the EDA board had been invited to the supervisors’ Monday meeting to present the study.

Allen could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

Middleton said he still feels it is important for all three boards to meet in the same room.

“I’m looking forward to hearing about the report,” he said. “I guess we’ll hear it individually, and I don’t think that’s solving our problems.”

Both the city and the county began discussing the effectiveness of the EDA in February after the county voted to cut funding to the authority.

Several county leaders have said they feel the EDA needs massive restructuring.

“I think we need to sit down at the table,” Middleton said. “We need to get the problems resolved. I want all three boards to get together. I think it is critical at this point to get this matter resolved and not let it linger.”

But Lazarus and Supervisor Darryl Grennell said they didn’t see the need to rush the matter.

“It has just gotten to be a real busy time, for me, and for everybody else,” Lazarus said. “We had to catch up on our real jobs.”

Lazarus said he would like to see the city and county discuss the matter before the end of the fiscal year though.

“We need to sit down and get a timetable to talk about it,” he said. “I’m not going to fund the thing unless it is fixed. It can work better.”

Grennell said a brainstorming session sometime before August would be the best option.

“Personally I didn’t see the need to do it immediately,” he said.

“I’ve gone through this before and it seems that every time an EDA director leaves there is always a question about the EDA.”

Grennell, who originally voted against cutting EDA funding in January, said he remains a strong supporter of the EDA.

The most recent EDA director, Jeff Rowell, resigned before Christmas.

Allen has said the board will be unable to hire a new director, knowing that funding may be cut later this calendar year.