Construction on the city’s latest park is underway downtown, Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen Dec. 12 accepted the $146,538 bid of Fordice Construction Co. of Vicksburg to build the multiuse park on the farmers’ market site at the corner of Jackson and Washington streets.

“The renovation and improvements are going good; it’s looking good,” Flaggs said.

Russ Markle of Wier Boerner Allin architects of Jackson, who designed the park, in September showed the board several conceptions of the park that included meandering sidewalks with landscaping, a stage for performing arts and green space for activities.

The park design will also allow the city or organizations to show outdoor movies.

Flaggs said the park will have one more addition — a statue.

“We’ve ordered a statue and it will have five names; I won’t name those names now, but these are people who have made giant contributions to Vicksburg and its progress,” he said.

Flaggs said the downtown area will have two clocks, one with four faces near the convention center, and another with two faces to be installed in the Washington Street area.

The board tried twice before to build a farmers’ market on the property. The first time, bids came in at $600,000; the next time it came in at $700,000. Both plans called for a large pavilion on the site.

After the second attempt, the board decided to go with a design for a maintenance free park that would incorporate green space.

In other action, the board:

• Approved a $16,230 requisition to Motorola Inc. for new radios for new vehicles at the ambulance service and the fire department.

• Approved a request from the Vicksburg Main Street Program to spend no more than $3,000 for promotional items for the Downtown Vicksburg Mardi Gras.

• Approved $30,000 for Haven House Family Shelter.