A Pearl contractor was the low bidder on an erosion repair project on the slope of a bayou in the Bowmar Avenue area.

Board of Supervisors president Richard George said the bid of Unicon of Pearl was the lowest of four submitted for the projects, with a bid of $69,694.25. Other companies submitting bids included

Fordice Construction, $96,107.50; Central Asphalt, $78,472.27; and Theobald Construction Services LLC, $99,620.

Fordice, Central Asphalt and Theobald are all from Vicksburg.

“By the time they get their contract signed and get the other paper work in order, it will probably be two to three weeks, I imagine” before the project can start, George said.

The project is funded by a Natural Resources Conservation Service erosion control grant that will most of the project costs, county administrator John Smith said, with the county paying a percentage and the engineering fee.

“The engineer’s estimate was $118,677.50,” he said. “The grant pays 85 percent of that and we pay 15 percent and the engineer’s fee.

“This thing has been going on for two years; we’ve been waiting on paperwork to get qualified with NRCS,” Smith.

The bayou runs along the property of King David No. 2 Missionary Baptist Church, under a bridge and north of Bowmar. “The church has erosion problems,” Smith said, adding residents in the area talked to District 3 Supervisor Charles Selmon about the problem and he brought it to the board.

• In other action, George was re-elected board president and District 1 Supervisor John Arnold vice president.