Chamber makes request for center space
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, January 9, 2002
Wednesday, January 09, 2002
The Natchez Democrat
NATCHEZ – Officials of the Natchez-Adams County Chamber of
Commerce on Tuesday asked aldermen to reserve the two smallest
retail spaces at the convention center for the chamber.
Sim Mosby, chairman of the chamber’s board, asked that the
spaces be reserved until city and chamber officials could negotiate
a lease for the space.
The request was made at the Natchez Board of Aldermen’s Tuesday
meeting, which was attended by more than 20 chamber members. The
chamber wants to use the space, about 700 square feet, as new
office space.
&uot;But I don’t know how we can say you can have or reserve
that space until we get definite word from the EDA&uot; on whether
that agency also wants space in the center, said Mayor F.L. &uot;Hank&uot;
Smith.
For the chamber’s part, said Mosby, &uot;we’d like nothing
better than to have us both (the chamber and the EDA) take up
all that space.&uot;
But he also asked why the Natchez-Adams County Economic Development
Authority was getting &uot;preferential treatment&uot; from
the city.
Smith responded that &uot;I started talking to them a long
time ago, before the chamber starting expressing interest.&uot;
Smith added that the EDA is funded, and its members appointed,
by governmental bodies and therefore is a public agency and should
be given preference.
In the end, aldermen tabled the matter until their Jan. 22
meeting.
That was done to give the chamber and the EDA time to work
out what space each agency wants to occupy at the center.
&uot;We’re hoping y’all can work something out in two weeks,&uot;
said Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux.
But Alderman Jake Middleton pointed out that the facility is
opening in three months.
He added that tenants moving into the retail spaces will have
to &uot;finish out&uot; construction and furnishing the spaces
themselves.
Also in Tuesday’s meeting, the board authorized Smith to sign
documents needed to take out a surety bond to get $1 million out
of a debt service reserve fund to help complete the convention
center.
The money will actually be removed from the escrow account
Jan. 22.
Earlier in the meeting, Police Chief Willie Huff announced
that a meeting of the board’s Police Committee will be held at
4 p.m. Jan. 15 in the city’s council chambers on Pearl Street.
Huff said the meeting is being held to give him a chance to
respond to police allegations made by the NAACP.
In an Oct. 17 Police Committee meeting, more than 20 citizens
aired complaints ranging from alleged racial profiling and harassment
to beatings by police, ticket and arrest quotas and unfair firing
of officers.
And Middleton, Recreation Committee chairman, announced that
National Park Service archeologists have agreed to return to survey
the entire &uot;beanfield&uot; site.
Local officials want to build a recreational complex on the
site near Natchez High School but must have the site surveyed
for archeological value.
Last year, the team only surveyed 47 acres of the site – when
the city had requested a survey of the full 109 acres, Middleton
said. The whole site will be surveyed this time, he said, calling
the situation &uot;a misunderstanding.&uot;