NATCHEZ &045;&045; At a Dec. 8 meeting, city personnel and community members will put together a plan of action for cleaning up the city’s most persistent beautification problems.

That’s according to Mayor Phillip West and members of Keep Mississippi Beautiful, who were among 16 city workers and local citizens attending a meeting this week on the subject.

After West spoke in a newspaper article earlier this fall of reviewing and toughening the city’s beautification ordinances as one of the top priorities for this term, KMB’s Stephanie Hutchins of Natchez was inspired to set up a meeting with the mayor.

Out of that September meeting with West and Barbara Door, KMB executive director, came a plan to bring the community and city together to brainstorm ways to combat litter, dilapidated properties and the like.

At a meeting held Thursday, two committees were formed to address the problem head on: one to see how city ordinances and their enforcement can be strengthened, and one to educate the community on the importance of everyone pitching in to beautify Natchez.

At Thursday’s meeting, &uot;I was just amazed by everyone’s receptiveness, everyone seeing ways in which they could address this issue themselves,&uot; Hutchins said.

Dorr also brought to the meeting samples of beautification ordinances used in other cities. West said he and other city officials will review the city’s current ordinance and the samples to see what areas, if any, are not currently addressed in the city code. &uot;Next,&uot; Dorr said, &uot;we’re going to bring together a plan of action for Natchez.&uot;

West said he sees education as an important component of the plan.

&uot;That is,&uot; West said, &uot;education on the benefits of a clean community and how (beautification) can help attract quality jobs and visitors.&uot;