In separate meetings Monday, the Warren County Board of Supervisors and the City of Vicksburg each approved the acceptance of a bid to purchase the jointly owned property formerly known as Riverfront Park on Washington Street.

County supervisors and the Board of Mayor and Aldermen each unanimously approved the acceptance of the high bid of $185,000 for the former park from Brad L. Ford. Both boards recognized Ford’s bid as the highest of the three submitted for the property.

Riverfront Park, identified as Tax Parcels No. 1085 31 9999 000800 and located at 4100 Washington St., was closed in 2022 after more than 30 years of public use due to erosion problems caused by the Mississippi River.

In 2022, the city and county agreed to close the park after 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 their best interest to abandon the property and look for another site. 

The engineers said they could not guarantee the city and county would not have to spend more money on the park to mitigate problems caused by the river’s current.

Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said in 2022 that since 2008, the city and county had spent more than $1 million on erosion problems. He called a proposed plan to fix the park’s four erosion-damaged areas a “Band-Aid,” adding the engineers also pointed out there was a spring in the area that could also cause additional issues.  

Board of Supervisors President Kelle Barfield said funds acquired from the final sale of the park will be split evenly between Warren County and the City of Vicksburg.