County begins 5th round of bids for ferry

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, March 23, 2004

[3/23/04]For a fifth time, offers will be sought to build a boat and barge for the Kings Point Ferry.

The Warren County Board of Supervisors has been trying for two years to replace the existing ferry equipment with a new 35-foot boat and 65-foot barge since obtaining funds to pay most of the project’s cost.

The ferry links Kings Point, an agricultural, timber and hunting area bounded by the Mississippi River, Yazoo River and Lake Centennial, to the rest of Warren County. Kings Point, northwest of Vicksburg, is connected by an area of low-lying land at lower water stages but the ferry is required for year-around access and has been since the Yazoo Diversion Canal was opened in 1903.

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The county has $233,994 budgeted for the ferry’s operation this year. Over a year’s time, the ferry averages about 28 trips per day although during busy times, such as hunting season and planting and harvest times, the average can peak at nearly 100 trips a day.

The main reason for getting a new boat and barge is safety, said board president Charles Selmon of District 3.

“Several years ago, we had a log truck go in the river, and we don’t want that to happen again,” he said.

In addition to having a new boat and barge that will be safer to use, Selmon said Coast Guard regulations also call for increased safety in their operations.

Richard George, District 5 supervisor and board president during many of the attempts to get new equipment for the ferry, concurred about the safety concerns.

He said the county will be able to use money it would have used for repairs to the existing barge as match money for grants to get all new equipment.

The first advertisement for bids on the contract was greeted with a barrage of questions from potential bidders and was withdrawn by the county. The next attempt drew no bidders.

The third attempt attracted bids from Big River Shipbuilders of Vicksburg and Tensas Machine and Manufacturing of Newellton. Both bids had to be rejected because they did not comply with all requirements.

The same two companies bid the fourth time supervisors advertised, and both submitted valid bids. Big River submitted a bid of $530,000 and was declared the low bidder and received the contract. Before it began work, Big River notified the board that the price of the steel needed for the boat and barge had risen by $20,000 since it had calculated its bid. After conferring with the Attorney General’s Office, the board voted to cancel the contract and reject Big River’s bid rather than pay the extra money.

At Monday’s meeting, County Engineer John McKee recommended that the board advertise for bids once again.

This time, bidders will be given the option of making an offer on the boat and barge as a package, on just the boat or just the barge. Bidders will also have the option of offering bids on both but not as a package.

In some situations, governments seek performance bonds that are forfeited if a bidder fails to deliver goods or services at a promised price.

No performance bond has been required in the Kings Point project, being funded with a state grant and local money.