NATCHEZ — The Natchez-Adams County Recreation Commission has tentatively awarded a bid for dirt work at the site of the new community pool and multi-purpose fields, the first step in the physical construction of the project.

The winning bid — $79,976, submitted by Camo Construction — is contingent on a positive review by the project’s engineer, and includes mobilization fees, clearing and grubbing of the site, excavation, fertilizer and seeding, vegetative materials, fencing materials, silt fencing, water line work and the installation of backflow preventers.

The commission opened and accepted the bids at its meeting this week.

When the dirt work is completed, the site will be substantially ready for the construction of the pool and support buildings.

Recreation Commission member John Ward Junkin said the winning bid — which was far lower than the other two submitted — was $35,000 less than the initial engineer’s estimate.

The other two bids were $161,994.34 from Dozer Inc. and $226,019 from Stubbs NK Contractors.

The commission does not have a specific timeline yet for when it will bid the actual pool construction because the construction documents have not been finalized, Junkin said, though much of the work on the documents has been done and are expected to be completed in the relatively near future.

In other news, Casey Custer — the YMCA’s liaison for Natchez, who attended the meeting by phone — said the time is coming for the YMCA to have a full-time person in Natchez.

Custer has been acting as the liaison with a one-day-a-week presence in Natchez since even before the commission officially contracted with the YMCA to run the county’s recreation program earlier this year, but said things do not appear to be pointing that he will be the full-time person.

The YMCA has identified a potential full-time candidate, and she will be coming to meet with people in the area soon, Custer said, and the decision to locate to Natchez will ultimately sit with her.

“This thing is bigger than me or any one person with the YMCA,” Custer said. “The YMCA is committed to Natchez as long as Natchez is committed to the YMCA, and as things get going we are going to need a lot more than one person.”