NATCHEZ &045; After today, everyone involved should have a better idea of when work will start &045; and finish &045; on the second phase of federal courthouse construction.

Last month, the U.S. General Services Administration awarded a $5.7 million contract to Witherington Construction of Mobile, Ala., for the second phase.

That includes work on the inside of the building, including walls, plumbing, air conditioning, electrical, duct work, security and elevators.

But before that work can begin, representatives of the GSA, City of Natchez, Adams County and others involved must meet to iron out pre-construction details.

&uot;It’s a good way to get all the players in a room and discuss any issues that may come up,&uot; City Engineer David Gardner said.

For example, Gardner said he may want to emphasize the importance of keeping the site clean and directing traffic in an orderly fashion, since the site’s in the heart of downtown.

&uot;Then when we finish, we’ll have a better idea of when they’ll start on the work, because they need to have this meeting in order to issue a notice to proceed to the contractor,&uot; Gardner said.

However, at an aldermen meeting last month, City Attorney Walter Brown said the GSA phase could start this month and be finished by December 2006.

High-tech features of the new courthouse will include video displays to allow jurors and all other participants to review documents, DVDs, videos and graphics at the same time. Before, documents and other exhibits had to be passed from juror to juror, taking up valuable court time.

The facility will also provide up-to-date accommodations for jurors and witnesses and holding cells and interview rooms for defendants, as well as offices for U.S. marshals.

It will also provide for more secure flow of inmates, allowing U.S. marshals us to take them from a holding cell to the courtroom without ever entering a public hallway.

Local officials have lobbied to lure a federal courthouse to Natchez since 1999, when they successfully persuaded Congress to pass a bill allowing Judge David Bramlette to request federal funding.

Work on renovation of historic Memorial Hall on Pearl Street as a federal courthouse started in late November 2003 with the city’s part of the project.

That work, which was finished in summer 2004, included gutting the unusable parts of the building’s interior and removing old wiring and plumbing.

It also included installing a new roof and utility connections, restoring stucco and brick and structurally shoring up the building.

Once the project is completed, the GSA will maintain the building.