photo by Steve VanGunda

Aldermen Tony Fields, along with Tourism and Marketing advisory council member Janice Guido, listen to Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis speak during Tuesday night’s finance meeting at Natchez City Council building.

Natchez marketing budget approved by aldermen

By Mary Hood (Contact) | The Natchez Democrat

Published Wednesday, August 27, 2008

NATCHEZ — The marketing budget created for the $2 occupancy tax has been approved by the board of aldermen and will take effect Sept 1.

Janice Guido, marketing advisory committee liaison to the Natchez Convention and Visitors Bureau board, gave an overview of the budget during the board’s finance meeting.

She said the committee has several goals it wants to reach through the new money.

“Our goal is to increase (tourism) by a minimum of 3 percent,” Guido said.

Another goal is to beef up traffic at the convention center.

“In my humble estimate, you’re probably at 50 percent potential,” she said.

With so much room to grow and with conventions impacting every aspect of Natchez, she said that’s a good focus to have.

“That business flows into everything we do,” Guido said.

Other plans for the $480,000 estimated accrual total include revamping the city’s Web site to bring in more leisure tourists.

Members of the board were leery of fluctuating hotel occupancy rates that could affect that $480,000 estimate.

Guido said they played conservatively when they came up with the number, and Director of Tourism Connie Taunton assured the board that the marketing committee will meet quarterly to review the budget.

Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis requested that if any tweaking is done to the budget through these quarterly meetings that they be presented to the board.

Guido agreed to that.

In other business during Tuesday’s board of aldermen meeting, the Rev. Leon Howard, chairman of the negotiating committee of the Natchez branch of the NAACP, brought up an issue he wanted the board to evaluate.

George Davis owns and operates a fruit stand behind the Walgreens on D’Evereux Drive.

According to Davis, he wanted to move the fruit stand within the 300 block of the street.

However, zoning ordinances have changed and in order to move his stand, he would have to get permission from the planning department.

According to Howard, after having plans revised and redrawn twice, City Planner John “Rusty” Lewis denied permission.

Howard said Lewis “refused to let him stay open” and told Davis to leave the city.

“That’s (un)lawful and distasteful,” Howard said. “We deserve, we ask for and yet we demand to be treated fairly.”

Howard also argued that even if the code did change, it took effect after the stand was in place, and Davis should be grandfathered in.