Despite a dip in February, reports show tonnage handled by the Port of Vicksburg up from a year ago, according to figures supplied to the Warren County Port Commission by Kinder-Morgan Bulk Terminals Inc.

The increase follows commissioners signing off on a new, lower rent from the contract operator who deleted a share for the county based on volume.

Kinder-Morgan sought the lower rate, citing less activity at the port in north Vicksburg. In December, the deal was signed, obligating the firm to pay a flat rate of $135,000 for a one-year deal. Based on the company’s estimated earnings for 2002 and 2003, dropping a 10 percent claim on gross port volume meant at least $1 million lost to the port commission.

Presented at Monday’s meeting of the panel that manages industrial properties, the new numbers gave the commission their first definitive account of the tonnage since the contract was signed.

&#8220It shows business has really picked up at the port,” said Jim Pilgrim, executive director of the Warren County Economic Development Foundation.

Just less than 15,000 tons of dry goods such as steel and aluminum passed through the port in February, down from just over 20,000 tons in January.

The same report showed tonnage stayed below 15,000 for almost all of 2005, except for a sharp spike to more than 25,000 in December. Tonnage in 2004, except for one strong month in July of that year, also stayed largely below 15,000.

Providing the commission with monthly financial reports, a renewed marketing and recruitment plan and the right to name the terms of any contract extensions were also part of the deal with Kinder-Morgan.

Also Monday, members of the commission praised the Warren County Board of Supervisors for approval of a funds transfer to help expedite local matches for the Yazoo Diversion Canal widening project.

In their meeting earlier in the day, supervisors approved the transfer of $108,000 of commission funds to the City of Vicksburg for acquiring rights of way along the canal.

Planned by the Vicksburg District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the city of Vicksburg and the port commission, the $3.9 million project to widen the canal will be funded primarily by the federal government, with another $90,000 to be funded by the city and $500,000 from community development block grants.

Commissioners said the transfer was a key in trying to get the project started, one that has been in the planning stages for at least a decade.

The commission received more positives from Pilgrim with its &#8220prospect report,” usually a short dossier of the types of businesses that have placed calls to the EDF inquiring about opportunities to locate either at the Port of Vicksburg, Ceres Research and Industrial Interplex, or elsewhere in the county.

While four companies inquired about available space at Ceres, the emerging industries of processing ethanol and biodiesel have continued to contact the EDF.

&#8220It shows economic activity is rolling along pretty good,” Pilgrim said, adding later that federal funding of tax incentives to advance alternative fuel sources is more likely than in previous years due to consistent oil price hikes.

The commission adjourned until April 17 at 3 p.m.