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The Jackson Wire

Business, economics, and what is coming next in Jackson.

Morning Brief: Oct 14 · Horhn Touts $150M Road Push, Discloses $1.3M Overbilling

Mayor John Horhn’s second State of the City announced a $150 million street and drainage program and a $1.3 million overbilling recovery, while UMMC’s $250 million cancer center breaks ground Oct. 22.

By Jackson Wire Staff·Edited by ··3 min read

  1. Horhn touts $150M road program, $1.3M overbilling

    In his second State of the City address Tuesday at the Jackson Convention Complex, Mayor John Horhn said the city has assembled $150 million for street and drainage work from the 1% sales tax, federal highway money, state appropriations and bonds, and named AJ Construction, 2 Oaks Construction, APAC Construction and MS Paving as selected contractors, the Clarion Ledger reported. He said crews will resurface roughly nine streets a week for a year, calling it the biggest paving year in four decades. Horhn also disclosed the city’s IT department found $1.3 million in overbilling on a single contract and is trying to recover it; he did not name the contractor.

  2. UMMC cancer center groundbreaking set Oct. 22

    The University of Mississippi Medical Center’s $250 million Cancer Center and Research Institute is scheduled to break ground Oct. 22, Horhn said in Tuesday’s address, per the Clarion Ledger. The five-story, 250,000-square-foot building on State Street across from the main hospital is the centerpiece of a $125 million philanthropic campaign that UMMC said in March had reached $100 million. Regions Bank added a $2.5 million gift on Oct. 5, UMMC’s cancer institute page shows. The state has committed $100 million toward construction. It is the largest single private capital project now moving in Jackson.

  3. Jackson opens asphalt paving bids Oct. 15

    The city’s Procurement Division has two 24-month paving contracts out for bid, both posted Oct. 12: RFQ 74567-102726 for asphalt pavement milling and RFQ 74505-102726 for asphaltic paving materials, according to the city’s bid opportunities page. The milling contract’s bid opening is Oct. 15. The postings do not state a contract value or estimated tonnage. The awards will set who supplies the material and grinding for the $150 million resurfacing program Horhn described Tuesday, so the bid tabulation is the first public look at what the work will actually cost per street.

  4. Jackson diversions up 9.5%, Ridgeland up 23.7%

    August sales tax diversions to Jackson totaled $2,612,443, up 9.5% from $2,385,899 a year earlier, and fiscal-year-to-date collections are up 6.0%, the Department of Revenue’s diversion report shows. Ridgeland again led the metro in growth at 23.7% for the month and 13.7% year to date. Pearl was the outlier, down 8.6% for August and 10.5% year to date, the steepest metro decline. The monthly diversion is the closest thing to a real-time read on each city’s retail base, and it lands as Jackson voters weigh a separate tourism tax on Nov. 3.

  5. Visit Jackson unveils five-year tourism plan

    Visit Jackson rolled out a five-year strategic plan at its State of Tourism address Tuesday, WJTV reported, hours before Horhn’s speech. The plan follows the bureau’s May figure of $1.3 billion in annual visitor spending in Jackson and Hinds County, including $267.6 million on food and beverage and $166 million on lodging. It also lands ahead of the Nov. 3 referendum that would raise the restaurant tourism tax from 1% to 1.5% and the lodging tax from 1% to 2%, with revenue dedicated to Visit Jackson. The measure needs 60% approval to take effect.

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