NATCHEZ — The City of Natchez is exploring issuing a bond to fund completion of the Broadway Street depot renovation.

Natchez Mayor Darryl Grennell said he is set to meet soon with the city’s financial adviser Demery Grubbs about the feasibility of a bond, which could include funding for other projects in the city as well.

“I would like to see the city finish the job and get the interior (renovation) done,” Grennell said. “This could be not just for the depot, but there are other infrastructure items that need attention, too.”

Grennell said, if possible, he wants to include funding to repair the roof on the City Council Chambers; restore the north Natchez youth center; overlay the road in Duncan Park; renovate the Duncan Park pro shop to serve as a venue for wedding receptions, parties and other events; and possibly make repairs at the Natchez Visitor Reception Center. The city also did not receive a grant to restore the Angeletty House, and Grennell said he wants that project considered as well.

Grennell said he does not know yet how much all of those projects would cost..

“I would like to look at doing it with a single bond issue,” he said. “We will have to look at what type of (borrowing) capacity we have.”

At the same time, Grennell said, he wants to consider refinancing the city’s current bonds to see if the city can get a lower interest rate and save money on its payments.

Completing the depot project is the top priority, Grennell said.

“I’m hoping we could get this moving forward in the next five or six months,” he said. “Depending on how soon we can go through with the process. The other projects are secondary; the depot project has already commenced, and we need to go ahead on and complete that and look at leasing it for retail space.”

The City of Natchez cut the ribbon on the downtown Broadway Street depot six months ago, and the building still sits vacant and partially renovated.

The ribbon cutting marked the $879,000 exterior renovation of the historic depot, largely paid for by Mississippi Department of Transportation funds.

After awarding a bid for renovation of the interior to New Orleans hotelier Warren Reuther, Reuther’s company spent approximately $80,000 on interior renovation.

The city is to repay that money to Reuther as part of an agreement to rescind Reuther’s lease of the depot following controversy surrounding the deal.

The city came under fire for the perceived lack of transparency and questions of legality in previous dealings for the depot, including a lawsuit filed by resident Gwen Ball alleging the city did not follow legal procedure. The lawsuit was later dismissed because it was not filed within 10 days of the aldermen’s decision as required by city law.

City officials said at the time they wanted the city to issue a request for proposals for the completion of the project.

No RFP has been issued, Grennell said, pending Grennell’s meeting with Grubbs to explore financing for the project.

Ward 1 Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis, in whose ward the depot is located, said the reasoning behind bidding out the project was because the city did not have the money to complete it.

The city struggled to balance its budget for the current fiscal year and was forced to use money from its annual lease payment from Magnolia Bluffs Casino to cover a deficit.

“I don’t know that in this year, we have the money to complete (the depot project),” Arceneaux-Mathis said. “That’s why we accepted a letter of intent and then went into contract for somebody else to do it.”

Arceneaux-Mathis said the process would likely be sped up if the city issued an RFP to complete the project, and included in it the money to repay Reuther, if it’s not available in the city’s budget.

As for a issuing a bond, Arceneaux-Mathis said the board has not discussed the matter.

“We are still trying to completely clean up everything with the city’s finances so we know exactly what we owe,” she said. “We’ve refinanced bonds before, and those of us who were involved in the refinancing … understood what we were doing. People have come in and criticized that and don’t understand the process.

“It sounds as if (the mayor) is suggesting an omnibus bond bill to take care of several pieces of property. We have so far not talked about that.”