NATCHEZ &045;&045; The city is working with U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran’s office to get $140,000 the city has already spent to stabilize the Mississippi River bluffs counted as a part of a match toward a $1 million grant for the project.

City Engineer David Gardner said this week tentative plans are to, by the end of the month, change language in existing legislation to allow the spent money to serve as a match for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers grant.

&uot;That would cover more than half of our match,&uot; Gardner said.

Even if the language passes, the city will need to find another $110,000 in its already cash-strapped budget to complete the 25 percent match, a task Gardner said he is now working on with City Clerk Donnie Holloway.

Once full funding is available, the project would take four to five months to complete.

The city first asked the Corps in September to help with funding for the erosion control project.

The project would include replacing deteriorating plastic drainage pipes with new, larger pipes along the project’s northernmost boundary.

Sunlight has deteriorated plastic pipes near Learned’s Mill Road, causing water seep out of the pipes during heavy rains and erode two large holes at the bottom of the bluff, although Gardner has said the bluff is holding up overall.

Gardner has said his office conducts an extensive check of the bluffs twice a year &045;&045; more, if the city receives tips from the public regarding possible problems, usually after heavy rains.

Corps representatives also check regularly on monitors placed on the bluff to detect any movement of the stabilization structure.

Next, Gardner said he wants to get approval from aldermen to bid out a contract under which a private company would cut grass tasks and perform other routine maintenance tasks.