The Board of Mayor and Aldermen have authorized Mayor George Flaggs Jr. to sign a contract with Fordice Construction of Vicksburg to build a multipurpose park at the corner of Washington and Jackson streets.

The area is the site for the Vicksburg Farmers’ market.

Fordice was the lone bidder on the project with a total bid of $146,538, which is the combination of the company’s $129,700 base bid, plus a $16,838 alternate bid to install underground electrical wiring at the park. The project’s budget is about $127,000. The bid was accepted Nov. 5.

Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said the extra cost will be made up with money left from the $9.5 million first draw of the 2015 capital improvements bond issue.

At the time the bid was presented, Flaggs indicated he wanted to accept the bid, adding, “I just don’t want to delay it,” Flaggs said. “It’s been delayed so many times before.”

He said Monday the property will not be accessible to the public during the work.

The board tried twice before to build a farmers’ market on the property on Washington Street. The first time, bids came in at $600,000, the next time it came in at $700,000.

After the second attempt, the board decided to do something that would be maintenance free and incorporate green space.

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

The drawings also show a layout for the farmers’ market and an arrangement for showing outdoor movies.

“It’s a very minimal installation, but it gives you a great amount of flexibility to adapt and find things that we haven’t even imagined,” Markle told the board.