Adams County officials are rolling out a welcome mat — and an access road, gas line and water well — to bring infrastructure to the Foster Mound Industrial Park and its first tenant, Stewart Orchids.

Private and public funds — as well as a Community Development Block Grant — have contributed to the site improvements.

Adams County received a $160,187 Community Development Block Grant from the state to pay for a water well, an access road into the park and other site improvements.

Mississippi Valley Gas and the Natchez-Adams County Economic Development Authority are sharing the cost of the gas line.

Adams County supervisors may rebid the water well project because original bids came in higher than expected. Supervisors opened bids from three companies for the project Monday. Base bid prices ranged from $131,629 to $186,000, and the county only has about $80,000 in grant funding for the project. Layne Central Company of Jackson submitted the lowest bid.

Roy Geoghegan, a planner with Southwest Mississippi Planning & Development District, said supervisors can make up the difference, ask Stewart Orchids to help or readvertise. &uot;We have to look at some options and see what we can do,&uot; Geoghegan said, adding officials were mainly looking at changing the project specifications and rebidding.

Stewart Orchids is moving to 10 of 302 acres at the county’s new Foster Mound Industrial Park. It is the first company to commit to that location.

The company and any future botanical industries which settle at that location need the well for irrigation.

None of the block grant money has been spent, but the county has already awarded bids for one part of the project – the construction of a 600-foot access road into the industrial park.

Monday, supervisors awarded the lowest of six bids to W.E. Blain and Sons to build the road, which is to be called the North Industrial Park Road. The company’s $79,797.70 bid was in line with what the county expected to pay for the road, Geoghegan said.

Initially this road will only extend as far as needed by Stewart Orchids, but it will also be needed once the county secures more companies for the site.

&uot;(Building the road is) something they’re going to do no matter who goes in there,&uot; said Andrew Ketchings, state representative and associate director of the Natchez-Adams Economic Development Authority.

Bids on the road project ranged from $79,000 to $100,724.40.

Supervisors also voted this week to have Mississippi Valley Gas extend a gas line to the Stewart Orchids site.

Mississippi Valley Gas has agreed to pay for $20,000 of the $65,000 cost of installing the line, Ketchings said.

The EDA will pay for the remaining $45,000 with funds in Adams County Industrial Foundation established during the 1980s. Officials created this fund by selling a piece of property on Palestine Road, Ketchings said.

Stewart Orchids needs the gas line to care for the orchids, especially during the winter months.

&uot;They can’t grow orchids without heat,&uot; Ketchings said.

And Ketchings said Stewart Orchids and any other industrial prospects cannot be expected to pay for costs, such as the water well or gas line. &uot;It’s going to benefit the entire park,&uot; he said. &uot;We can’t expect Stewart Orchids to pay for everybody else’s gas line.&uot;

Even thought the county is just in the beginning stages of doing work to the road and well, Geoghegan said the county is on target to finish as planned.

&uot;Timewise I think we still have a good shot of bringing everything together as scheduled,&uot; Geoghegan said. &uot;Our goal was to have these items completed by the time the company was ready for them.&uot;

Stewart Orchids is building three greenhouses, office and laboratory space at Foster Mound. The company plans to open this fall with 15-20 employees.

The Community Development Block Grant requires the creation of at least 20 new jobs in order for a location to qualify.

Supervisor Lynwood Easterling described Stewart Orchids as a seed that will draw more businesses to the industrial park.

&uot;It’s just going to grow,&uot; he said.