by DAVID HAMILTON

NATCHEZ — Members of the Natchez Board of Aldermen and Natchez Convention Promotion Commission met Wednesday behind closed doors to negotiate a proposed management agreement that has been up in the air for the past month.

After the initial specially called meeting scheduled for 4:30 p.m. in the City Chambers building was canceled, select members of each party instead held a meeting at the same time, but in the conference room at City Hall.

The board of aldermen’s tourism committee — comprised of Ward 1 Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis, Ward 3 Alderwoman Sarah Smith and Ward 4 Alderwoman Felicia Irving — met with NCPC chairman Lance Harris and treasurer Katie McCabe to discuss details of the agreement.

Natchez Mayor Darryl Grennell said the original special call meeting was canceled because Ward 5 Alderman Benjamin Davis was out of town.

“I want a whole board there,” Grennell said. “I think it’s important for the whole board to participate.”

Because neither group achieved a quorum, the meeting was not required to be held openly.

In Davis’ absence, the two groups opted to hold a meeting between select members so the two sides can begin to “move forward,” as Harris said.

The proposed management agreement is meant to replace a former agreement between the city and the NCPC that expired in 2012.

At a July 17 specially called meeting, Harris approached the mayor and aldermen with the NCPC’s proposal. Distinctly, this proposed contract would allow the city to receive a “dollar-for-dollar” reimbursement for the salaries of all NCPC employees in addition to all other expenses incurred by the city on behalf of the NCPC.

In return, the proposed agreement would clearly grant the NCPC governance over matters such as the ability to “hire, fire, set and adjust compensation and manage” all employees that do the work of the commission. Harris has said the prior management agreement was more ambiguous in these terms.

At the July 17 meeting, both Arceneaux-Mathis and Ward 2 Alderman Billie Joe Frazier voiced concerns about the agreement that stemmed from the “debacle” of last year, when the entire NCPC board handed in resignations en masse following ongoing personnel issues.

With only Smith voicing a willingness to proceed with the agreement as it stood, the aldermen essentially deferred any decisions on the contract until after they had a chance to suggest revisions.

The next meeting had been planned for this past Monday, but was again pushed back to Wednesday. Grennell said an official public meeting involving the management agreement would likely not take place for another two weeks.