NATCHEZ &045; In accepting the position of chairman of the Convention Promotion Commission, Royal Hill promised that &uot;this will be a proactive board.&uot;

Perhaps nothing illustrated that as much as the commission’s Wednesday meeting, the first for four new members aldermen appointed just last week.

Joining current commission members Royal Hill and Angie Singleton were Ron Riches, Rene Adams, Katie Johnson Moore and Tammi Gardner.

During Tourism Director Walter Tipton’s report on Convention and Visitors Bureau finances, members pored over the printed version, taking down notes as they went.

Rene Adams of Dunleith quizzed Tipton on several matters, asking what properties were included in figuring the city’s hotel occupancy rates and room rates and why the convention center had made more of an impact on occupancy.

Tipton said that for convenience’s sake, only figures from three larger properties &045; the Days Inn, the Isle of Capri and the Natchez Eola Hotel &045; are used.

However, Tipton said many visitors choose to stay in other hotels or in bed-and-breakfast inns.

He said that’s a fact that is disclosed to prospects considering locating a hotel in Natchez.

That’s a good thing, Adams said. &uot;If I saw a $59 (a night average rate), that would run me out of town&uot; as a hotel developer, Adams said.

Adams also asked Tipton for a updated marketing report at every month’s meeting.

Others asked to get figures on the economic impact tourism has on the area.

Adams suggested &045; and other members agreed &045; that the commission hold a work session prior to its next meeting, set for April 13, to discuss those and other issues more in depth. As of Wednesday, a date had not been set for that session.

In Wednesday’s meeting, Tipton also went over with commissioners the finer points of Mississippi’s open meetings law.

Among other things, the law states that:

4A meeting must be open to the public if a majority of members are present. That includes work sessions such as the ones Adams proposed, as well as board &uot;retreats.&uot;

4Public notice must be given of the meeting.

4An executive, or closed-door, session can only be called to discuss certain matters, such as personnel, litigation and contracts.

It also prohibits &uot;accidental meetings&uot; in which board business is discussed and &uot;walking quorums,&uot; in which small groups of commission members meet one after another to avoid having a quorum at one time, in order to keep the public out of the meetings.

Tipton also told members state ethics laws prohibit the commission or the CVB from directly benefiting businesses in which commissioners have a vested interest.

Tipton gave the example of the CVB writing any type of check to a business or organization with which commissioners are affiliated. Riches owns antebellum house and inn Monmouth; Gardner directs the Natchez Downtown Development Association.

Gardner asked whether the CVB helping print brochures that would be used by the NDDA would violate the law. Tipton said no, provided the funds were handled by the city (which holds a management contract with the CVB), not the bureau itself.

Adams asked how representatives of the Ramada and the Eola could have served on the board when the CVB did business with those hotels. But Tipton said that in each case, those transactions were handled by the city.

Even after a two-hour meeting, commission members seemed ready to go, wanting to further address such issues in the near future. As Riches put it, if nothing else, &uot;this is an energetic group.&uot;