The first steps to making Union Street smoother should start soon.

City Engineer David Gardner asked the board of aldermen at Tuesday’s work session for the go-ahead to survey Union Street for repairs.

Union Street topped the list of streets needing repairs eligible for Federal Aid Urban grant money through the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

Gardner said the repairs would probably focus on the northern section of the street.

“We’ll probably start at Jefferson (Street) and go north as far as we can go,” Gardner said. “We’ll try to get all the way to George F. West (Boulevard) if we can.”

Gardner said he would present the board with a report outlining the areas to be repaired once the survey work was done.

It would probably not be feasible to repair the entire street all the way to Orleans Street because of the costs involved, he said. Extra repairs like handicap-accessible ramps, curbs and sidewalks cost a good chunk of money, too.

“It’s going to be a major job when we get through,” he said.

Gardner said he could not give cost estimates off the top of his head, but that mostly grant money, and some city match money, would pay for the project.

Gardner also requested the city look at a 1954 city code that requires landowners to pay for the upkeep of the sidewalks on their properties.

The subject came up when a landowner approached Gardner about his liability if people tripped on the sidewalk on his property, he said.

“Do we need to amend the code to take the liability off the landowner?” Gardner asked.

Alderman David Massey said he thought so. Since he first took his seat on the board in the late 1980s, he said, he couldn’t remember that code ever being enforced.

Massey suggested City Planner Dennis Story look at current state codes and other municipalities to make a suggestion as to if and how the city’s code should be updated.

The board went into executive session, citing topics of personnel in all departments and litigation regarding the old Natchez Pecan Factory condo projects.