NATCHEZ — A gas leak at Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center will cost the City of Natchez $10,000 to $15,000, Building Inspector Paul Dawes said Wednesday.

The city had to shut off heat at the center earlier this month, forcing students and teachers at the Natchez Gymnastics Association and Natchez Ballet Academy to practice in uncomfortably cool temperatures.

“It’s very difficult to define what a job like this is going to cost,” Dawes said. “We’re going to utilize (the original gas pipes) as much as we can, but we have to prove the pipes are sound.

“There’s been no discussion of how (the repairs) would be funded, and there lies the problem. We’re waiting on authorization to proceed and as soon as they tell me to go, we’ll start running pipe.”

Dawes said he sympathizes with Natchez Gymnastics President Kim Strawbridge and Natchez Ballet Academy Director Mignon Reid, who are using portable electric heaters to warm their rental spaces.

“People over there are in a tight spot,” Dawes said. “The electrical service that is available is not adequate enough to plug a space heater in without tripping a bunch of breakers.

“(Natchez Gymnastics) is such a huge area that space heaters won’t do the job.”

Strawbridge said she recently met with city officials and was told she could pay $1,000 for a gas line to be re-routed to her space. However, she can’t afford the bill because Natchez Gymnastics is a non-profit organization.

“I’ve talked with the city back and forth and I don’t know if they are going to do anything,” Strawbridge said.

Fortunately, Strawbridge has not used space heaters this week due to warmer temperatures, but she hasn’t stowed them away. Temperatures are expected to plunge to the upper 20s later this week.

“I’m really worried about the weekend,” Strawbridge said. “We’re begging for heat.”