NATCHEZ &045; The local office of international engineering firm Michael Baker Inc. is getting ready to do business, local economic development officials said Wednesday.

In a meeting of the Economic Development Authority’s Board of Trustees, EDA Director Michael Ferdinand said the office received earlier Wednesday a switch for its computers &045; the last major piece of equipment it needs to install to open its doors.

The company has relocated an employee from Colorado to handle its Natchez office and has hired another person as well, and is now actively working to hire for 10 more positions, mostly in computer-aided drafting and related fields, Ferdinand said.

&uot;And Co-Lin is setting up training for them right now,&uot; EDA Chairman Woody Allen said, referring to Copiah-Lincoln Community College’s Natchez campus.

The office will handle mapping for government agencies, among other projects. It is located on the second floor of the city council chambers building on Pearl Street.

In other business, Allen noted that officials from International Paper have visited Natchez twice in the last two weeks but that talks on acquiring IP’s former Natchez mill site for use as an industrial park are still ongoing.

Also during Wednesday’s meeting:

4EDA officials discussed an upcoming redesign of the agency’s Web page to incorporate more up-to-date information and to make the site more attractive and easier to use.

4Ferdinand updated the board on some of the EDA’s recent activities, such as assisting Receivable Solutions in applying for government funding for new equipment and helping Tessenderlo Davison officials research government incentives for which that company might be eligible.

Details of site visits by industrial prospects were also discussed &045; but behind closed doors, since state law allows boards to discuss economic development in executive session.

Ferdinand did say that a visit representatives of the Southwest Mississippi Partnership, a regional economic development organization, made recently to an auto engineering trade show yielded a prospect for Adams County, a chemical company that is an automotive supplier.

4Ferdinand told the board the Rural Electric Association is opening a field office on Colonel Pitchford Parkway, an office from which local technicians will work.