During the past year, Sen. Joey Fillingane of Sumrall helped secure funding under two initiatives - $500,000 through the BP Settlement Bill and $2 million from Senate Bill 3065 – to improve recreation in Sumrall, particularly at the city’s sports complex off Mississippi 42.
Those funds will soon be put to use, as city officials are accepting bids for Phase I of improvements to the complex, which will entail a new road, a parking lot, and pre-excavation for eight new tennis courts at the site.
“Ninety-five percent of it is going to be dirt work; they’ve got to get all that soil out there ready,” Mayor Heath Sumrall said. “The roadway is going to be moved from where it exists right now, and the parking lot built, then all that dirt is going to have to come out for those tennis courts.
“They’ll probably have to bring some dirt in here, because the dirt around Sumrall moves around so much, those tennis courts will crack up. So they’ve got to make sure they get some good soil in there before they pour the tennis courts.”
Sealed proposals will be accepted until 10 a.m. November 25 at Sumrall Town Hall, 4880 Mississippi 589 in Sumrall. Detailed drawings and specifications of the project can be examined at The Walker Associates, 2203 Hardy St. in Hattiesburg, or at Sumrall Town Hall.
Proposals and contract documents must be submitted in a sealed envelope with the bidder’s current Certificate of Responsibility Number and “Sumrall Sportsplex – Phase I Improvements” marked on the outside of the envelope.
Future, separate bids will be accepted for new lighting at the complex and upgrades to the surface of the soccer fields, which have been holding water.
“We’re looking forward to moving forward with the sports complex,” Alderwoman-at-Large Brittany Fortenberry said. “We know that these students have worked very hard in the past, and we’re looking forward to helping them grow the sport of soccer in Sumrall.
“(The fields) are retaining water very, very badly, so it’s not ideal playing conditions, and we also don’t have any lighting out there.”
Sumrall said the drainage issue is likely the result of original work on the project being rushed.
“They should have waited and got a little better surface on there,” he said. “Now, what’s possibly going to have to happen, is the sod is going to have to be taken off of it. Then it’s going to have to have some re-grading, and sod put back, because it’s just not draining.
“The soccer field is a priority right now – we want to get it to where they can play on it and use it for tournaments and everything that they need to use it for. They’re using it for practice now, but the drainage is just beginning to tear the sod up.”
The $500,000, which was earmarked for the tennis courts, is part of $750 million distributed statewide as part of the BP Settlement Bill. That bill – formally known as Senate Bill 2002 – was the result of Mississippi’s lawsuit against BP for the 2019 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in which 210 million gallons of oil were spilled into the Gulf of Mexico.
Under Senate Bill 3065, Sumrall received $2 million for its recreational facilities, part of $207 million in state-issued bonds for several projects and educational institutions around the state. The University of Southern Mississippi received $13.3 million of those funds, which were earmarked for three areas of improvement at the university: renovations at the Cook Library, transit improvements and renovations at the Kinesiology Building.
“We have not designated any taxpayer money from the town treasury for this project,” Sumrall said.
