City officials could soon be making an offer to buy land off East Clay Street to build a new fire station.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen Monday approved a resolution to make an offer to a property owner based on the recommendation of an appraiser with Bottin Consulting Group Inc., the firm hired by the city to appraise the property.

City Attorney Nancy Thomas would not give the location of the property after the meeting, but Mayor George Flaggs Jr. and Fire Chief Charles Atkins said it is in the Berryman Road area near its intersection with Maxwell Drive. According to Warren Count tax records, the property is one of several tracts owned in the area by Vicksburg LP Gas Co. The proposed site involves portions of two lots facing Berryman Road.

City officials have discussed building a new station in the East Clay Street area for several years, and have set aside $1.6 million of the city’s $9.2 million capital improvements bond to build a new station.

East Clay Street was designated as the possible site for a new station because of the multi-story hotels in the area, and quicker access to Interstate 20 for traffic collisions and to Merit Health River Region Medical Center, which the Vicksburg Fire Department is responsible for.

AUCTION RESULTS

In another matter, the board learned the city netted $173,965.25 from its sale of surplus equipment at a Dec. 5 auction at Halls Ferry Park. Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said he intends to keep a close watch over how the additional funds are spent.

“I asked (accounting director) Doug (Whittington) to put it in budget form, put it in a category so we can determine which departments (will receive money),” Flaggs said. “It is my understanding some of this money has to go back to the utilities department and other departments.

“So we don’t become trigger happy and start spending money, I’m going to recommend to the board that we create a supplemental budget just for this money, so we can know where this money is and at the same time be accountable for the money. I this one-time money shouldn’t be put in the budget, because it will affect the budget.”

Using a separate budget, he said, will allow the board to use a line item approach to the budget “so you will know and the people will know exactly what we’re spending it on and we’ll be transparent.”