VIDALIA — With all the activity steering toward Vidalia’s new neighboring municipal and recreational facilities, traffic jams will naturally follow.

To nip the traffic issues in the bud, the Vidalia Board of Aldermen voted unanimously Tuesday to fund an extension of a road that would create a second point of access to the new facilities.

Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland said the city would purchase land for $30,000 from an individual in order to create a road that doglegs from the tennis court area back to Carter Street.

While he predicts the second entrance and exit option will assist soccer moms and dads from sitting in traffic after a game, the second entryway will also serve as a safety measure.

“If a major wreck (occurred), they couldn’t get emergency vehicles (to the complex area),” Copeland said.

Alderman Jon Betts asked Copeland if the intersection of the second road and Carter Street would have a traffic light.

Copeland said the traffic light at the proposed intersection is something the city would have to look into further.

Since the intersection will be fairly close to Kaiser Mobil, the city might need approval from the state legislature to install another traffic light at the intersection, Copeland said.

The board also approved awarding a contract to the lowest bidder for construction of a previously planned road around the parking lot of the new municipal complex. The winning bid was for $489,000, which was approximately $100,000 lower than the estimated cost, Copeland said.

“We got a tremendous bid,” Copeland said.

Both roads will be paid for from the city’s road and drainage tax fund, he said.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting:

4Vidalia employees have been looking into a grant that could potentially fund a transit system in Vidalia, which would include busses and/or vans similar to those in Natchez, City of Vidalia Housing Program Coordinator Georganna Berry said.

“We’re trying to get the details we need in order to apply for the grant,” Berry said.

The system could be used to bring senior citizens to the municipal complex or youth to the recreation complex, Berry said.

The aldermen gave Berry approval to apply for a portion of the statewide $125 million grant from the Department of Transportation, which will be applied for in conjunction with state-level offices.

4Berry also received approval from aldermen to apply for a grant through the Louisiana Housing Financial Agency that would fund the construction of one to four apartment units, which would be marketed to elderly renters.

“It’s amazing how many calls we get a day (from people) trying to find some place to live,” Copeland said.

The $1.5 million rural development grant would allow the city to build a handicap-accessible complex on city-owned property behind Vidalia Upper Elementary School. The site envisioned for the grant project currently houses the old city swimming pool, which would be demolished and the property prepped for construction.

Rent for the units would be between $350 and $409, and the complex would target elderly people with an approximate annual income between $33,000 and $35,000.

4Copeland said at the close of Tuesday’s meeting that it was the last meeting in which the aldermen would gather in the current City Hall before moving to the new municipal complex.

City Hall will be closed Thursday and Friday while the offices move across town, Copeland said. But business should be starting up as usual at the new complex Monday, he said.

Copeland said the Vidalia Fire and Police departments would be moving this week as well. The current fire and police stations will remain functioning, however, as substations.

In addition to providing police presence at the substations, the fire substation can hopefully increase the city’s fire rating from a three to a one, which has potential to lower fire insurance rates for residents.