The city of Vicksburg is going into the timber business.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen Friday approved a resolution declaring a timber surplus and authorizing the Mississippi Department of Forestry to advertise and conduct the sale.

The board’s resolution involves about 13 acres of woods on the south side of Halls Ferry Park and about 32 acres at the Vicksburg Municipal Airport. The Forestry Commission will sell the timber at auction for the city for a total fee of $450, based on a price of $10 per acre for each tract — $320 for the airport timber and $130 for Halls Ferry.

Money from the sale of the airport timber will go into the airport’s budget. The board approved putting the revenue from the sale of the Halls Ferry Park timber into the recreation department budget instead of the city’s general fund.

Making way for disc golf course

South Ward Alderman Alex Monsour, who is over the city’s recreation department, said cutting the timber at Halls Ferry will help clear the way for a disc golf course along the perimeter of the park, “Which will bring colleges to Vicksburg to play disc golf. It’s a big phenomenon now. It’s a very big draw now.”

In another matter, the board approved an $18,000 contract with Ridgeland-based Headwaters Inc., to perform an environmental assessment of the remaining 100 acres of the city’s Fisher Ferry property outside of the area used by the Sports Force Parks on the Mississippi sports complex.

The fee will be paid from Monsour’s discretionary funds.

According to the contract, Headwaters will perform an environmental assessment, wetland delineation, cultural and biological assessments of the property.

Monsour would not say if the assessment of the property was a prelude to develop the remainder of the property.

Lack of a wetlands permit was one of the problems that affected development of the Fisher Ferry property as a sports complex in 2009.