NATCHEZ &8212; The Natchez Association for the Preservation of Afro-American Culture might get city funding for a director this year.

In last week&8217;s budget workshop, $31,000 in funding for a NAPAC director was on the aldermen&8217;s list of requests.

LeRoy White, chairman of the NAPAC board, said the organization&8217;s museum needed a full-time director to help entice minority tourism.

Most of the $31,000 would pay for the director&8217;s salary, but some would go to a part-time janitor who would help keep the building clean, White said.

&8220;I hope we can pass that so we can get that done,&8221; White said. &8220;We hope to align hours with the city, Monday through Friday. Right now it&8217;s only Tuesday through Friday from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. because we rely on volunteers.&8221;

The money would come from the tourism department&8217;s budget because the board hopes the museum will bring minority tourism, which will help the city, Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis said.

&8220;(The city) has helped NAPAC from the beginning,&8221; Mathis said, referring to the city building the museum inhabits. &8220;Heritage tourism was made part of the city&8217;s tourism plan years ago.&8221;

Mathis said the city is trying to get the museum the status of the civil rights museum in Memphis. In order to achieve that, the museum has to have a regular, paid staff.

&8220;We&8217;ve got to have someone constantly working on attracting traveling exhibits and boosting tourism,&8221; Mathis said.

&8220;The volunteers have done a wonderful job, but it needs to function as a resource for education and research. That can&8217;t happen if they don&8217;t have the backing of the city in terms of staff.&8221;

She said it was important

that people see all sides of Natchez history, and the museum would help with that.

Tourism Director Walter Tipton said he was interested in strengthening heritage tourism in the area.

&8220;There have been some ongoing discussions over the last four to six months about having a more consistent program at the NAPAC museum,&8221; Tipton said.

The museum could be a focal point where additional heritage tourism could be achieved.

Tipton said he was enthusiastic about the growth of the museum, &8220;as long as it&8217;s being led by constituents as opposed to us saying, &8216;This is what we want to do.&8217;&8221;