Blaming &uot;bad timing,&uot; the Natchez Board of Aldermen pushed forward the construction timetable for the downtown convention center Tuesday. By changing the date on the official &uot;notice to proceed&uot; from Dec. 11, 2000, to Jan. 2, 2001, contractors will have a better chance of completing the project on time, City Engineer David Gardner said.

The project calls for a 395-day, or 13-month, construction time. Under the new timeline, the convention center should be completed in March 2002, one month later than if the Dec. 11 date were kept.

When choosing the earlier date, officials failed to consider the disruptions that would be caused by the Christmas and New Year’s holidays and the cold, wet weather, Gardner said.

&uot;It was just bad timing for a notice to proceed,&uot; he said.

So, rather than have the project be behind schedule right from the start, officials decided moving the start date would be more fair to contractors.

The postponement is the second time work on the convention center has been delayed. In October, the aldermen put off awarding construction bids because those received were higher than expected. Once construction is completed, the architects and contractors will still have to complete a &uot;punch list&uot; of unfinished details and clean the building. Also, furniture must be moved in and personnel trained on-site.

Taking all that under consideration, Gardner said the first convention could realistically be booked for late April or early May.

Walter Tipton, city tourism director, said he has no problem with the construction timetable being pushed forward and believes it will help ensure the convention center’s success.

Unless talk of building a hotel adjacent to the convention center soon becomes a reality, the city would not be able to accomodate a convention in March, because all the hotel rooms would be filled with spring Pilgrimage tourists, Tipton said.

Mayor F.L. &uot;Hank&uot; Smith said he would rather delay construction a few weeks than open the convention center when it isn’t completed.

&uot;If (the postponement) is going to make for a smooth construction I don’t see any reason not to do it,&uot;&160;he said.

Smith said creating a perfect first impression for the convention center once it opens is &uot;first and foremost&uot; on his mind.

&uot;I know how difficult it is to overcome (a bad first impression),&uot; he said.