After bemoaning the cost of a water well for Stewart Orchids, county supervisors were in for a pleasant surprise Tuesday.

After speaking with Roy Geoghegan, a planner with the Southwest Mississippi Planning and Development District, supervisors learned they had a $38,400 economic development grant to help pay for the well.

The supervisors had only allocated $60,000 for the project in their budget, said County Administrator Charlie Brown.

But the lowest bid for the project was $74,400 – $14,400 more than the Adams&160;County Supervisors thought they had allocated for the well.

Supervisor Darryl Grennell said the oversight was due to a miscommunication.

&uot;We had no idea there was a grant secured for that purpose,&uot; he said. &uot;That was something to jump for joy about.&uot;

After learning about the grant, the board voted to award the bid to Rayborn Water Well Central Drilling Service.

The vote is contingent on approval from the agency that provided the grant, but that should only take a few days, Geoghegan said.

&uot;It was a strange happening,&uot; said board President Virginia Salmon about finding the extra funding.

&uot;But thank goodness we’ll go forward because we can’t hold (Stewart Orchids) up any more.&uot;

Stewart Orchids Inc., has yet to begin operation at its new location — 10 of the 302 acres at the county’s new Foster Mound Industrial Park. It is the first company to settle at the industrial park.

But Stewart Orchids and any other botanical industries which settle at Foster Mound will need the well for irrigation, officials said.

Adams County received a $160,187 Community Development Block Grant from the state to help fund the water well, an access road and other site improvements

Also on Tuesday, the board approved a $25,128.56 bid from Columbus Fence Company to construct a fence for Stewart Orchids.

A $100,000 grant match through the Natchez-Adams Economic Development Authority covers its cost, Geoghegan said.

Many supervisors said they want things to move forward at Foster Mound.

&uot;We don’t want anything holding us up on Foster Mound,&uot; said Supervisor Lynwood Easterling.

Steve McNerney, owner of Stewart Orchids, was pleased with the grant.

&uot;We’re looking forward to being here,&uot; he said. &uot;It has taken some time, put it has finally come to part.&uot;

As soon as the site has water, gas and electricity, the company is ready to begin business and he hopes to begin moving flowers to the site by mid October, McNerney said.

The site’s water well will be 250 feet deep, and it should begin producing water in about two months, said Jim Marlow, engineer

In the meantime, the company will use the Adams County Water Association as a backup water source.