Natchez — Negotiations for the development of the Roth Hill casino are in the works, and the Natchez Board of Aldermen wants frequent updates.

While preliminary work is being done at the site, Premier Gaming still lacks necessary approvals and agreements from the city.

The board voted 5-1 at Tuesday’s regular meeting to require the company to give updated current site plans to the planning department and require the planning department to maintain a complete, current and consistent set of plans from the company.

Ward 3 Alderman Bob Pollard voted against the motion that was made by Ward 6 Alderman Dan Dillard.

Pollard said he had complete faith that Natchez City Planner Bob Nix and his office would stay on top of the casino development.

Nix said the city only has a lease agreement with the gaming company not a development agreement.

Nix said after the meeting the construction for the project will happen in phases while negotiations for the development agreement take place.

Nix said he has sent samples of development agreement forms to the company’s attorney for review. He said both the city’s attorney and the company’s attorney must agree on what format the development agreement will be in before specifics are put into the agreement.

The planning department is currently prepared to issue the company a foundation-only permit, Nix said. The department is awaiting final foundation design plans for Premier Gaming.

The permit means the company will be constructing the foundation at its own risk with the understanding that if an agreement is not in place that satisfies the city once the foundation is complete, construction could be halted until an agreement is reached.

Ward 1 Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis and Dillard both said they wanted to ensure the city was getting the best deal possible with the casino contract.

“We need to tie this thing down so we can get the very best contract and to make sure every part of it is honored,” Mathis said.

Nix also said after the meeting that Premier Gaming must receive final approval for the design of the buildings on the property from the Natchez Preservation and Planning commissions. He said the designs need to be approved in December in order for the developers to stay on track for the casino to be completed in a year.

In other business from Tuesday’s regular meeting:

4Middleton broke a 3-3 tie vote to approve an ordinance amending the city’s charter to reflect the new ward lines that were drawn in the redistricting plan the board adopted at a specially called meeting on Oct. 27.

Mathis, Ward 2 Aldermen James “Rickey” Gray and Ward 4 Alderman Ernest “Tony” Fields voted against the ordinance. Ward 5 Alderman Mark Fortenbery, Pollard and Dillard voted for the motion.

Gray said he still believed the lines the political redistricting consultant Bill Rigby drew reflected “stacking” and “packing” in some of the wards, which would cause the U.S. Department of Justice to deny the plan.

Fields said that decision is now left the justice department.

Sanders said his goal was to have the plan submitted to the justice department for approval before the end of the month.

-The board met in executive session during the finance committee meeting for approximately 40 minutes to discuss a personnel matter added to the agenda by Middleton and contracts.

-Middleton announced in his report that Natchez Police Chief Mike Mullins will be retiring effective Monday, and Commander Danny White will be serving as interim police chief until a new chief is hired. Middleton said the city hopes to hire a chief by January.

-The Robert Lewis Middle School Student Council and Future Business Leaders of America packed the council chambers on a field trip to observe the meeting.

Gray said he was very happy to see the students at the meeting.

“I think we see a lot of future aldermen, city engineers, police chiefs, fire chiefs … out there,” he said.

-The board granted Natchez City Engineer David Gardner permission to spend $5,000 from the public properties fund to purchase wiring and install temporary electric poles to power Christmas decorations on Broadway Street.

-The board’s next meeting is at 6 p.m. Nov. 22 in the Natchez City Council Chambers.