NATCHEZ &045; Proponents say organized efforts to beautify Natchez, both through enforcement and through education, are taking shape.

A citizen committee is also working to educate the public on the importance of beautification and ways to help.

Principals from local schools met Tuesday with Mississippi Department of Transportation and Keep Mississippi Beautiful representatives to discuss starting a beautification curriculum in the fall.

But enforcement is also a large part of the beautification effort.

Starting Feb. 15, citations will be issued to downtown businesses and residents who violate the town’s garbage ordinance.

The ordinance states that garbage can’t be left outside before 7 a.m. or after 5 p.m. and can’t be left out in cans without lids.

&uot;The reason is that some businesses put out their garbage Friday afternoon and it gets blown around every weekend,&uot; Police Chief Mike Mullins said.

The amount of fines for violations of the ordinance was not available from Municipal Court as of Wednesday afternoon.

Letters have already been sent to downtown property owners notifying them of the ordinance and its enforcement, said Tammi Gardner, executive director of the Natchez Downtown Development Association.

In addition, NDDA is asking downtown business owners to each contribute $25 a year to help plant and maintain tree wells that line downtown streets.

&uot;We’re asking everybody, not just those who have tree wells in front of their businesses,&uot; Gardner said.

The police department has also pledged to step up enforcement of littering ordinances starting March 1, said Stephanie Hutchins, an organizer of the Beautification Committee.

Aldermen already voted in December to allocate $7,000 a year, starting with the 2005-2006 budget, to pay a landscaping company to plant, maintain and clean tree wells, Gardner pointed out.

Other beautification efforts the board voted to start included allocating $3,500 during the mid-year budget revision to pay for tree well plantings in time for the grand opening of the Natchez Trace Parkway, which is set for May.

They also included naming a well-kept, clean property as the city’s &uot;home of distinction&uot; every other month. That since been changed to recognize an entire &uot;block of distinction.&uot;

That award is set to be given in the Board of Aldermen’s March 8 meeting.

Meanwhile, the citizen committee is working on several other beautification tasks, including:

4Finalizing an amnesty day on which Waste Management trucks would pick up types of garbage the company doesn’t normally pick up, such as waste tires.

4Getting drive-by trash cans made for use in larger parking lots throughout the city.

4Setting up a citizens’ watch line so residents can call in reports of littering or similar violations.

4Speaking to churches, civic groups and other organizations about the committee’s efforts.