McComb will be entering new phases in the reconstruction projects of the railroad depot and Alpha Center.
Mayor Quordiniah Lockley said last week that the state of emergency for doing construction on the McComb railroad depot should be removed. The city board will vote on whether to do that tonight.
The depot was set on fire on May 30, 2021, and a state of emergency was declared last November in order to rebuild the destroyed parts of the building and put on a new roof to preserve what was left of the rest.
City Administrator David Myers said at the work session that he was recommending M&P Construction Inc. of Richland work on the third phase of the Alpha Center.
That will include interior renovations, window repairs, new flooring and doors, ceilings and painting. The board will vote on that tonight.
Myers said M&P submitted a renovations for $304,000 bid for the project, while Paul Jackson & Son of Brookhaven bid $423,000.
Both were more than the $200,000 he expected it would cost.
“They came in a lot higher than we thought, but a lot of work is going to be done down there at the Alpha Center,” he said.
“This most certainly will get that building in the condition where this entire city and community can be proud of.”
“We know the building material cost skyrocketed, so therefore, if you’re doing any kind of rehabbing that requires building material, you’re going to pay a nice arm and a leg or so,” Lockley said.
He said if the funds available do not pay for all of the work, the difference could be made up with American Rescue Plan Act money.
