NATCHEZ — On Thursday the Adams County Board of Supervisors passed a motion to accept the sale and purchase agreement between International Paper, Rentech and Adams County, but the land deal isn’t final yet.

Attorney Bob Latham, who represented the county in the transaction, said the motion’s passage was extremely important.

“It’s the most important step,” he said.

However the motion, proposed by supervisor Darryl Grennell, was amended during the meeting.

Shortly after the meeting was called to order Latham requested, at Rentech’ behest, the meeting be conducted in executive session citing economic development.

Supervisors Grennell, Thomas “Boo” Campbell and Mike Lazarus voted to conduct the meeting in executive session.

Board President Henry Watts and S.E. “Spanky” Felter were outvoted and the meeting was closed.

Watts said much of the discussion during the two-hour meeting hinged on a change in contract between Rentech and the county that ultimately led to the amendment of the contract.

The original contract called for the county to receive nearly $3 million from Rentech once the land was purchased.

However, upon examination of the contract Watts said the county would only be receiving $1.7 million at closing.

The remaining $1.28 million was pledged to the county in the form of an unsecured promissory note.

The change of the contract was only learned of late Wednesday evening, Watts said.

Watts said he was not surprised a “serious consideration came up in the closing.”

During the meeting supervisors called Rentech representatives — none were present at the meeting — to discuss the last minute change.

The amended resolution approved by the board called for $1 million in escrow to be used to secure the difference promised to the county.

“They conceded to those terms,” Watts said of Rentech officials.

Watts said the money from Rentech would be specially earmarked for industrial development.

After the meeting, supervisor Mike Lazarus said the board no longer had a role in the Rentech closing.

“That was our final step,” he said.

Watts echoed Lazarus’ remarks by saying there was no longer anything the county could do to facilitate the closing.

Rentech’s vice president of corporate communications and governmental affairs, Tom Sayles, said Rentech was “extremely delighted” to learn of the board’s action.

As of Thursday evening, issues dealing with the St. Catherine’s Creek Utility Authority were still being discussed and were believed to be the last delay in the project.

However, late Thursday evening Rentech’s senior vice president of project development, Dick Sheppard, said he believed final documentation and financial wire transactions to finalize the closing should be completed today.

“Hopefully” he said.