Plans by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to renovate the City Park pavilion and build a new pavilion downtown for the Vicksburg Farmers Market are taking a step back after bids for both projects came in well over their budgets.

The board took the bids under advisement Monday.

Both projects are included in the city’s $9.2 million first phase of capital improvements. The board allocated $350,000 of the bond funds for renovations at City Park and $550,000 to build the pavilion at the site of the Vicksburg Farmers Market at Washington and Jackson streets. The farmers market pavilion was expected to be used for downtown events between the fall and summer market seasons.

Two Vicksburg contractors bid on the renovation project. Fordice Construction’s bid of $624,650 was about $275,000 over the proposed budget, with the $835,000 bid by DirtWorks $485,000 over. Fordice also bid on the farmers market pavilion with a $1.016 million bid. Barnard & Sons Construction of Mendenhall bid $990,000, while Paul Jackson & Sons Construction of Brookhaven bid $1.14 million.

“I could say something, but I won’t,” North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield said after the bids were opened.

The high bids are not the first time bids for city projects have gone overbudget. The board Monday approved five general fund budget amendments totaling $498,600 to cover the extra cost for the Halls Ferry Park tennis courts expansion, installation of an elevator at the Vicksburg Municipal Airport, additional funding for the renovations to the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad Depot, and lights and surveillance equipment at the city parking garages $346,000.

“I’m not surprised, that’s just the cost of doing business,” Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said after the meeting. “It’s a way of life; construction costs are just going up, and when you delay these projects, it’s going to cost you more.”

He said the board now needs to put a priority on the City Park pavilion renovations and look at the farmers market pavilion later.

“The (City Park) pavilion is a place where a lot of people have family reunions and gatherings,” he said. “People rent that, as opposed to the farmers market, which is going to be another amenity to downtown.

“I’d rather we get the pavilion built and come back in the next six months and look at where we are in terms of the bond money, and then rebid the famers market out.”

The board initially planned to reroof the City Park Pavilion, which is estimated to be about 51 years old, but decided instead to give the building a makeover to include a new roof, new lighting and an improved stage.

“I think it’s something to enhance that area,” Flaggs said, “because we’ve got the walking park out there, we’ve got the skate park out there. Now we need a more updated pavilion out there, and it will enhance the quality of life, so I’m for trying to move money around for that one and hold off on the farmer’s market until we can move some money around next year in the bond (issue).”

South Ward Aldermen Willis Thompson said he was not surprised by the City Park Pavilion bids, but was by the bids for the farmers market pavilion. Like Flaggs, he believes the board needs to concentrate on the City Park Pavilion and wait on the farmers market.

“That is the most utilized building in the city,” Thompson said. “People use it for all kinds of activities. It needs an upgrade. We’ve got some good facilities at the park — we have the skateboard park, we just opened the walking track, and the pool is in good shape.”

He said both renovation bids include items the city can deduct from the plans to reduce the project cost and bring it closer to the project budget.

“But we need to be careful and make sure we don’t cut out too much. We need to make sure we keep things in that will make it better. We need to look at what we can do and maybe wait on the farmers market until the next draw (of the bond issue),” he said.