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VIDALIA, La. — During Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Vidalia Mayor and Board of Aldermen, the Alderman unanimously approved a $1.5 million bid for the Vidalia Slough Project from Camo Construction Co.

The pumping station aims to control flooding of the Vidalia slough and is predominantly funded by a Statewide Flood Control Program.

The bid from Camo was the lowest of two bids received on October 24, 2024. The bid is for $1,546,541 with an alternate added for $135,135 for a total of $1,681,676 approved Tuesday by the Aldermen.

Greenbriar Digging Service LP submitted a bid of $2,359,175 with an alternate bid of $132,000.

Bryant Hammett & Associates is the engineer for the project.

A motion to accept the bid from Camo was made by Alderman Robert Gardner and seconded by Tommy Probst and it passed unanimously with all the aldermen present at Tuesday’s meeting.

In other matters discussed on Tuesday, the aldermen considered an intergovernmental agreement between the town and the Vidalia City court, led by Judge Hu’Cheryl Walker, regarding the reimbursement of expenses paid by the Town for the operation of the court.

Per the agreement being considered, the court agrees to reimburse the town $50,000 to supplement operational expenses incurred during the 2024 calendar year and continue reimbursing the town by July of each year for annual operations through 2028. The reimbursement is capped at 100 percent of the court’s net income or no more than $50,000 per calendar year.

Per the agreement, the town continues to pay the salary and benefits of the deputy clerk and the deputy clerk’s final check upon retirement.

Alderman Tron McCoy moved to table the matter after the court had returned some changes in the agreement so that the officials would have more time to review the changes.

The Board of Aldermen also unanimously passed two resolutions for the fiscal year 2024-2025 so that the town would be eligible for funding opportunities. The first resolution is in support of the Local Government Assistance Program, or LGAP, which helps municipalities address needs like public safety, public health, and infrastructure. The second resolution is in support of the Community Water Enrichment Fund used solely for the purpose of rehabilitation, improvement, and construction projects for community water.

Fifteen minutes into the meeting, the board voted to enter into an executive session to discuss possible litigation. Executive sessions are not open to the public or to the media. Executive sessions used for private discussion of litigation strategies are allowed according to open meetings law as long as the board votes to enter into an executive session during a public meeting.

The board stayed in executive session for approximately one hour before returning to an open meeting and adjourning the meeting without further action.