Biloxi City Council Votes for New Construction Company

The City of Biloxi made a huge statement today when it selected the construction company who will be contracted for infrastructure work south of the railroad.
The Biloxi City Council voted to award that contract to Hemphill Construction. Oscar Renda is currently contracted to complete infrastructure work in northern Biloxi above the railroad tracks but will now have nothing to do with work south of the tracks.
This vote comes on the heels of the mayor and city residents complaining about a lack of progress of Oscar Renda’s work. The biggest statement comes in the fact that Oscar Renda’s bid was $11 million less than the bid of Hemphill Construction.
General Superintendent for Oscar Renda Contracting John Cowart said, “It’s hard to take that they went with a contractor that was $11 million higher, knowing what we’re facing on the north side and knowing that we’re still doing all that we can to try and move things along, even though we’re not getting paid.”
Biloxi City Council President Robert Deming said, “There’s a lot of factors to consider but it all boils down to making the best decision for the city of Biloxi and I think we’ve achieved that. Obviously, it’s the life blood of our city. If you can’t move through the city then you can’t spend money in our city, which is the basis for our economic value here.”
Hemphill Construction’s bid was slightly more than $93 million.

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