During a special meeting of the Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen held Thursday, Mayor George Flaggs Jr. and Ward 2 Alderman Alex Monsour tabled the approval of a contract for the sale of the former Riverfront Park site on Washington Street.

The approval of the item would have authorized the execution of a contract for the purchase and sale of the real estate between Delta Bluff, LLC, the Warren County Board of Supervisors and Mayor and Alderman of the City of Vicksburg in the amount of $125,000.

The city and county jointly operated and managed the park and shared the costs of maintenance and repairs. In 2022, the board approved a resolution to close the park and accept the donation of two lots by Golding Land Co. near Golding Barge Lines as the site of the new park.

At the time, Flaggs said the engineers from Stantec, which the city hired to perform a study of the park and its problems, told a joint meeting of city and county officials “that it would be in our best interest to abandon that park and try to look for another site.”

The engineers, he said in 2022, could not guarantee or predict the city and county would not have to spend any more money on the park to mitigate problems caused by the Mississippi River’s current.

 “At that point,” Flaggs said, “It’s cost-prohibitive. The other (problem) is because of the criminal activity and the vagrants living in there now. It’s not a safe place to go down to.”

Flaggs said Thursday that tabling the item allows the city and county ample time to ensure the process of selling the land is done correctly and that all interested parties have an opportunity to bid on the property.

“I have spoken to Miss (Kimberly Walker) Nailor (city attorney) and I’ve spoken to Miss (Kelle) Barfield (Warren County Board of Supervisors president),” Flaggs said. “We’re going to table this and give, as of today going forward, 30 days so that those people that are interested (can bid) and we can make sure the process is fair. We are in no hurry to sell this land. But, we do want it to go to the highest bidder.”