NATCHEZ — With Natchez Railway losing business and the port not being able to contribute funding to the county, some supervisors have asked the question, “What is being done to market the rail and port?”

Adams County Board of Supervisors President Mike Lazarus said during December’s meeting he had heard the rail company was interested in contributing to paying the salary of someone to specifically help market the line.

Natchez Railway General Counsel Doug Davis said the company is certainly interested in seeing the line marketed more, but the railway is not in a position to hire anyone at this time.

Davis said the line is losing business and is down to a skeleton crew.

“We do need to do more marketing to the businesses there, and we need more businesses to market to,” Davis said. “But we are not looking to hire anyone to do that.

“We could do a better job of marketing the line. Any of the businesses that have rail access along the line, we would like to increase our services to them.”

Natchez Mayor Darryl Grennell said the Natchez-Adams County Port, because of topography of the region, can operate no matter how high the river is, or how low the river is. Grennell said that is an asset the region needs to market, just as strongly as the city markets its historical and cultural relevance for tourism.

Grennell said the port and the railway should be able to work together in promotion.

“The railway is very critical to industrial growth — that’s why we fought so hard to keep it alive,” Grennell said. “Having someone market both the railroad and the port would be wonderful. To me, it is a win-win for everyone.”

During a supervisors meeting earlier this month, Lazarus asked Natchez-Adams County Port Director Anthony Hauer if he had time to market the line along with the port?

“The port and the railroad are valuable assets,” Lazarus said Thursday. “If the railroad is not making money, then we need to do what we can to market it and the port — the port has seen better times, too.

“The railroad and the port are key for us in recruiting industry. I don’t see how it would hurt to have a full time person marketing the port.”

On Friday, Hauer said beginning at the first of the year, he would be meeting with existing clients to see if a deal could be reached to have the companies further use the rail line. Hauer said he has always been involved in recruiting industry due to his position with the port.

“We are a piece of that puzzle, if not the big piece of the puzzle,” Hauer said. “Anybody in production mode and shipping, we will be right here in the middle of it.”

Hauer said a traditional problem he has heard concerning the Natchez railroad, without getting into specifics, has been the price the railroad charged for moving freight on the line.

“Companies know what their budgets are, and they know what they can spend,” Hauer said. “If the numbers are not right, then they keep researching until they reach the magical number.

“What we are going to try to do, is have the rail in Natchez reach the magical number if it has not.”

Natchez Inc. Executive Director Chandler Russ said the port is one of the aspects that make Natchez unique, and the town having rail and highway access helps, particularly in competing with towns with Interstate highway access.

“From an industrial recruitment and business development standpoint, the river itself is our main draw,” Russ said. “There has never been a time where the port could not accommodate barge traffic because of water levels.”

The main target areas for growth are the old International Paper property, which has one 30-acre occupant of a total 478 acres in Delta Energy, and in the future, the former Belwood Country Club property, once a protective levee is constructed. Adams County owns both pieces of property.

Russ said a key selling point moving forward with marking the IP property will be the rail line improving from the St. Catherine Creek area to the site. Russ said the state is contributing a $650,000 grant and the county’s match will be in kind, not monetary.

A ring levee is being built around the Belwood site to help market the flood-prone area. Delta Regional Authority granted an approximately $2.3 million in funding for the phase one construction of the levee. Lazarus said more phases are coming to complete the levee.

Several clients are interested in the old International Paper site, Russ said. The Natchez Inc. leader said he hopes the upcoming year will feature some good news on the job-creation front.

“We’re hopeful for the region to move forward in 2017,” he said. “We are hopeful it is going to be a productive and fruitful year.

“We are going to keep our nose to the grindstone and continue to do our best in promoting the port, the rail and the industrial assets of the area to our potential clients.”