Final environmental test results for the Natchez Visitor Reception Center still aren’t in.

But the National Park Service, which operates portions of the building, and the city, which owns it, aren’t just sitting still.

City and NPS officials met Friday to discuss the next step, Natchez National Historical Park Superintendent Kathleen Jenkins said.

“We felt we needed to go ahead and begin a conversation,” Jenkins said.

The center’s bookstore was temporarily closed in December after employees noticed a musty smell that might have been caused by mold or mildew, Jenkins said at the time.

The bookstore’s carpet was removed, and officials plan to replace it with tiles.

Preliminary test results were mixed. Air samples taken in the bookstore and hallways indicated lower microbial levels than outside air.

But swab samples from bookstore surfaces and inside the air conditioning system showed high levels of bacteria, fungi and yeast.

So the city and park service plan to troubleshoot past problem areas, like the air conditioning system. The fact that the tests had to be conducted was reason enough to do this, Jenkins said.

“We have formulated a plan where we’re going to bring in more NPS experts to meet with city people and walk over the building to look at its condition and strategize,” Jenkins said.

The team of experts, including facility managers, public health officers and an industrial hygienist, who determines safe working environments, will inspect the 8-year-old building and determine problem areas and ways to fix them.

“We need to get to the real sources of what any problems may be and get a plan in place, not only what we need to remediate but how to prevent problems in the future,” Jenkins said.

Tourism Director Walter Tipton said the city definitely supported the idea.

“We are just gathering information,” Tipton said. “We’re getting a team to go through, and if they see moisture, recommend ways to remedy that.”

Part of what the team will do is take humidity level readings, he said.

“Everybody knows in the South we have high humidity levels,” he said. “But the lower the humidity, the less mold spores you have.”

The smart thing to do was to wait to make changes until the building had been evaluated, he said.

“We have a long-term partnership with the National Park Service, and we want to make sure we meet federal standards in everything we do. We are aggressively looking at it.”