The Board of Mayor and Aldermen have approved a contract not to exceed $99,688 with Stantec for engineering repairs to slide areas at Riverfront Park.

Heavy rains in January and April 2020 were responsible for four slides in the park — two along the riverbank and two other slides covering portions of the park road at two locations. The slides forced the city in April 2020 to close its most used park.

The cost to repair the slides is estimated at $664,585 and the work has been approved for emergency grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

The FEMA grant is a reimbursement grant covering 75 percent of the project’s eligible costs, which means the city will pay for the repairs and be reimbursed by FEMA. The city’s match is 25 percent, which will be split between MEMA, the city and Warren County.

The city and the county have an agreement to share repair and maintenance costs for the park.

The board in March approved borrowing up to $4 million to begin repairs to the problems at Riverfront Park and six other slide areas damaged during the severe rains. The loan will be repaid using the FEMA reimbursements.