BY GENE COLEMAN

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — The city-owned Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center in Natchez is closed for business due to plumbing issues, and the long-term plans for the building are dependent on funding, said Natchez Mayor Darryl Grennell.

Natchez Building Inspector Jody Rutter said a water leak discovered in the basement of the building last month created nearly 4 inches of standing water.

Attempts to repair the leak resulted in a “domino effect” of new leaks, Grennell said.

Grennell said repair work was complicated by the age of the building. Once a leak was found and repaired, he said, another leak would pop up.

Rutter said the estimate he received for the needed repairs was more than $60,000.

The former school building was built in 1927 and the city took ownership in 1989, according to historic records provided by the Natchez Historic Foundation.

Rutter said crews are expected to clean the basement next week, but that the building, as is, isn’t fit for housing the organization and businesses that were renting spaces there.

“We’ve shut it down and turned the water off,” Rutter said. “You can’t run a business without restrooms and whatnot; you have to have sanitary services.”

The building was being rented for gymnastics, ballet and pilates classes.

The Natchez Ballet Academy once housed in the Margaret Martin center moved out over the summer, said the academy’s director Mignon Reid Lefebvre.

“I was not told directly I couldn’t stay, but the conditions were such that I thought it was in the best interest of my students and myself to not stay,” Lefebvre said.

The academy is now located at 9 Ridgeway Road, she said.

Margaret Martin also is home to the annual Natchez Festival of Music. Although the festival sponsors events in several different venues throughout Natchez, the major events, such as opera, Broadway musicals and headliners are held at the Margaret Martin center each year and events in that venue draw 250 to 500 people per event, depending on the genre, festival chair Diana Glaze said.

Glaze said the non-profit organization awaits word from the city as to its plans for the building.

“We’re a little up in the air,” Glaze said. “We don’t know for sure if or when the city will fix the plumbing problem. If not, we’ll have to cast around for a plan B. We’re looking at other options and considering what might be viable options, but there are none as perfect as Margaret Martin.”

Glaze said Margaret Martin accommodates the organization’s productions best due to its space for storing props and creating costumes.

“It’s just going to be very difficult to find another venue that will give us that flexibility. Plus, it’s just a beautiful old building,” she said.

The YMCA in Natchez, which is housed in a separate building on the same property, remains in operation. On July 5, the city spent approximately $6,000 to install a water line that pumps water to the building while the water is inoperative at the former school building.