NATCHEZ — The City of Natchez will get help from more than just its residents to help clean up for a big party on the calendar.

Natchez is working with a few of its corporate citizens to remove unnecessary and unsightly utility poles and wires for a beautification “legacy project” Mayor Butch Brown spearheaded in preparation for the city’s 2016 tricentennial celebration.

The mayor, Ward 3 Alderwoman and utilities committee chair Sarah Smith, City Engineer David Gardner, Community Development Director James Johnston, City Planner Frankie Legaux, Traffic Director Curtis Norton and other officials met with representatives from AT&T, Cable ONE and Entergy Wednesday for an update on the project.

All of the companies have pledged to help eliminate utility pole and wire clutter in the city.

Brown said Entergy has been a model corporate citizen for its commitment to the project, which will eliminate clutter.

Local Entergy Customer Service Manager Tim Runnels highlighted the company’s progress on removing poles around the city. Runnels said Entergy removed 133 poles in the last two years and replaced 65 damaged poles.

Runnels showed a slideshow of photographs from areas where poles have been eliminated. He said Entergy is particularly proud of clearing clutter on the bluff.

“It really made a big difference,” he said.

The company also spent $333,500 since March 2012 on an IntelliRupter system that reduces the number of households that experience power outages by isolating the problem in the system causing the outage.

Runnels also said Entergy has awarded the city a $50,000 grant for Natchez’s tricentennial celebration. The grant, Runnels said, will be paid out starting this year up until 2016.

Brown thanked Entergy for the contribution and said the work to clean up the city will last beyond the tricentennial.

“What you’re doing for our city is to live past our 300th birthday,” he said.

Entergy Vice President of Customer Operations Napoleon Johnson said the clutter elimination project is just as important to Entergy as it is to the city.

“This is our community,” he said. “This is where our employees live, so it’s just as important to us to help the City of Natchez and the other cities we serve.”