GEORGE COUNTY, Miss. (WKRG) – Construction of a planned community center in George County will be delayed after contractors’ bids to build the facility came in over budget.

The Board of Supervisors voted Monday, Feb. 6 to reject all of the bids received on Jan. 17 and advertise for new bids later this month.

The lowest bid was about $174,000 over what the board had budgeted for the project. Two contractors submitted bids: Anderson Construction of Lucedale at $1.74 million and Brotherhood Service of Lucedale for $2.59 million.

Project engineers at Pickering Firm in Biloxi anticipated the bids to be about $1.6 million. They will go back and revise some fine details of the design like certain kitchen equipment and patio space with hopes the next round of bids will come in at or under budget.

The 7,000 square foot building will have a large assembly hall, conference room, kitchen, an office, storage space, restrooms and covered patio. It will be available to rent for community and private events.

The current design calls for a paved parking lot with security lights that can accommodate about 65 vehicles. An additional gravel parking lot with an option to be paved in the future will likely be included for contractors to submit quotes as an add-on to their base bid in the upcoming round.

George County Board of Education members voted last fall to allow the facility to be built on property the school district owns adjacent to Agricola Elementary School. The school plans to use it for occasional teaching and event space for its students.

The full $1.6 million estimated cost of the building was allocated by the state legislature during the 2022 session.

A groundbreaking was anticipated for the building around late February. With the next round of bids expected to push back construction by 30 to 45 days, supervisors hope to break ground in late spring.