Progress continues in developing the Golden Triangle’s fifth Megasite.
Lowndes County supervisors during the board’s Monday meeting approved a match to help fund the construction of a million-gallon water tank and a 16-inch water connection line for the CINCO Megasite.
Together, the water tank and water line are expected to cost approximately $11,428,000, said Elizabeth Templeton, a project manager with the Golden Triangle Development LINK. The LINK has submitted an application for a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to fund the cost of the project, she said.
“The exact cost of the improvements will not be known until the project bids, which we anticipate late spring or early summer of next year,” Templeton wrote in a text to The Dispatch.
During an unveiling ceremony for the Megasite last month, Gov. Tate Reeves announced a $5.5 million site development grant from the Mississippi Development Authority to support the construction of the tank. Templeton said that money will go toward meeting the 50% required match for the ARC grant.
“Based on the preliminary costs that were calculated for certification, we anticipate the state’s site development funds, provided by the governor’s office, will serve as the majority (of) the match in addition to a portion of the county’s bond proceeds that will be used to make up the balance,” Templeton said.
The CINCO Megasite, which lies north of Highway 82, encompasses almost 1,500 acres bounded roughly by North Frontage Road to the south, Steger Road and Golden Horn Road to the east, Swoope Road to the north and the area across from PACCAR and east of the catfish ponds to the west.
The water tank will be placed just to the east of Golden Horn, which is not incorporated into the site.
Board President Trip Hairston called the additional funding from the state a huge benefit for the site, allowing the tank to be built without using county funds.
“These are things that you don’t really read about. You don’t see a lot of news regarding those things because they’re coming just quietly behind the scenes working,” he said. “But these things are moving along, and that’s what it takes to have a developable site. That’s one of the benefits that we have here in Lowndes County.”
The board also appointed a three-member selection committee to evaluate four proposals for engineering services to construct the water tank and a 16-inch water connection line. The committee – consisting of Crawford, County Administrator Jay Fisher and District 4 Supervisor Jeff Smith – will make a recommendation to the board by June 16.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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