NATCHEZ &045; Aldermen who could be reached for comment Monday afternoon said they believe Mayor Phillip West should follow the law in seeking to demolish the former Natchez Pecan Shelling Co. building.

Last week, West said the city would go ahead with tearing down the building to make way for a condo development despite a state law that would give the state Department of Archives and History the opportunity to see first whether the site qualifies as a state historic landmark.

If the site did qualify, that would give Archives and History the right to sign off on future plans for the property.

&uot;I think we should follow the proper legal procedure,&uot; Alderman Bob Pollard said, adding that &uot;from the beginning, I suggested that all parties involved come to the table to try and work this thing out.&uot;

Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis said the city commissioned a riverfront development study in the early 1990s and sent out requests for proposals for the site earlier this year &045; all without board counsel notifying aldermen that they needed to give notice to Archives and History.

&uot;Walter (Brown, the city attorney) said we needed to send out for requests for proposals, but nobody told us about the possibility that we couldn’t do anything with the site,&uot; she said.

For that reason, she is seeking other legal advice on how to proceed. &uot;I’m in favor of demolishing the building, but not until someone tells us what we can do legally,&uot; she said.

Brown said he felt it was premature to notify Archives and History until the city was closer to signing a contract with developers Ed Worley and Larry L. Brown Jr. for the development.

&uot;But then I received a September 12 letter from Archives and History telling me they should be notified, and I told the board,&uot; Walter Brown said.

&uot;It certainly would have been premature to notify (the department) before we sent out requests for proposals.&uot;

In other developments related to the condo complex, Robbie Wilbur, spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, said Monday the city notified the department, as required by law, that the pecan factory building would be torn down.