NATCHEZ — Local officials gathered Monday to ask one critical question — what will it take to get the City of Natchez moving forward?

Officials say the answer, or at least part of it, seems to be eliminating the invisible boundaries that divide not only Natchez, but all of the Miss-Lou.

Natchez Mayor-elect Darryl Grennell hosted an all-day City of Natchez pre-inaugural retreat for current and newly elected aldermen Friday at Edelweiss mansion on Broadway Street.

Aside from a crash course in the basic functions of city government for the new incoming aldermen, the board met with officials from Adams County and the Town of Vidalia.

A big chunk of the approximately $80,000 spent on Grennell’s mayoral campaign went toward a survey, he said, that indicated the top concern of Natchez residents is jobs.

To effectively recruit industry and create jobs for Natchez, Grennell said Natchez has to think of not only itself but the Miss-Lou as a whole, regardless of state or county lines, race or other differences.

“It is not about black and white,” he said. “It’s about green. When there’s no green, I don’t care who you are, everybody suffers.”

Natchez Inc. Executive Director Chandler Russ and other economic development officials explained Natchez Inc.’s role in industrial recruitment and the recent efforts by Natchez Inc. to market the Miss-Lou as a whole.

“As we continue to move forward, we are (doing so) from a regional standpoint,” Russ said. “We have new mayors in Natchez and Vidalia, and there is a free flow of dialogue there. We need to have one entity pushing economic development and all other entities on board and making sure they’re moving the region forward in a collective manner, and not just four or five people doing something different than everyone else.”

Vidalia Mayor-elect Buz Craft, who attended the retreat with his newly tapped city manager candidate Bill Murray, said he plans to be a driving force behind recruiting industry. Many of the problems facing the Miss-Lou, including crime and lack of retail, can be controlled if residents are gainfully employed. To help solve those problems, Adams County and Concordia Parish must work together, Craft said.

“You can get on either side of this bridge, and there’s cars with Adams County tags going to work in Louisiana, and Louisiana tags going to work in Mississippi,” Craft said. “We have the same blood running through us.”

Also during the retreat, Grennell gave a presentation about goals he has identified and stressed the importance of working together.

Adams County Board of Supervisors Mike Lazarus offered advice to the incoming board about cooperation.

“There’s always been a lot of mistrust between the city and county,” he said. “Now, you have Darryl (a former supervisor) who knows our side of the street, and we have (former Ward 2 Alderman) Ricky (Gray) who knows your side of the street.

“Y’all have to get to know each other and trust each other and know that one of you is not going to get up and try to embarrass another one (at a meeting), because Darryl and I have had that happen. You have to trust each other and try to make it work.”

Craft pledged to do all within his authority to ensure cooperation between both sides of the river. He emphasized the importance of eliminating secrecy from operations of government.

“We’re going to make mistakes,” he said. “Let the people know our mistakes; that way democracy is served. Let’s not hide our mistakes, because we learn from our mistakes. Any kind of secrecy creeping in, it’s never good.”

Since being elected earlier this month, Grennell said he has spent time at City Hall familiarizing himself with city government, meeting with department heads and touring city facilities.

Among his goals are installing television monitors in the city council chambers so supporting materials for department head and visitors’ reports can be viewed on the screens, working with tourism officials on the feasibility of putting Natchez-made pralines on pillows in every Natchez hotel room and extensive cleaning in City Hall.

During his presentation, Grennell also emphasized the importance of transparency, honesty, inclusion, respect, community engagement and budget accountability.

“In terms of budget accountability, we have to get our financial house in order,” he said.

The city has struggled for years with turnover and other issues in the city clerk’s office, and aldermen have complained they were not able to get a clear picture of the state of the city’s finances.

Grennell also mentioned the idea of hosting approximately four town hall meetings in different areas of Natchez, including apartment complexes such as Williams Apartments.

“We invite the community … and rotate wards … and give information about what we have been doing, information about industry, jobs, housing,” Grennell said.

The city needs to work on connecting with residents on social media platforms and building its web presence, he said.

Throughout the day, Grennell and the aldermen also met with Natchez National Historical Park Superintendent Kathleen Bond, Supervisor David Carter and Beverly Adams with Youth Leadership Natchez, Betty Cade with Mission Mississippi, Natchez Children’s Services Director Nancy Hungerford, Mississippi’s Jurist in Residence and former youth court Judge John Hudson, representatives from local law enforcement, the Natchez-Adams County Community Alliance and others.

After the retreat, Grennell said he thought the gathering was a productive one that would help the new administration hit the ground running when sworn in July 1.

“I think it went extremely well,” he said. “Next week, we go to the (Mississippi Municipal League) conference, and it’s my hope that we can learn a lot and get good ideas and network with other aldermen and mayors across the state.”