VIDALIA &045;&045; City officials will be asking the state for more funding to help offset the increased cost of the Vidalia Gateway and Welcome Center.

But that’s the only capital outlay item Vidalia is seeking this year, Mayor Hyram Copeland said Thursday.

&uot;The reason for not submitting anymore is it’s just a tight budget year,&uot; Copeland said.

Last year Vidalia received capital outlay funds to help pay for the facility, which has also received some federal funding and will likely have local in-kind contributions.

But earlier this month Vidalia received bids from contractors that were about $1 million more than the original estimated $4 million for the gateway center.

Copeland has said city officials hope to find new sources of funding.

But the state has been generous to Vidalia in the past, Copeland said.

&uot;We’ve been very fortunate,&uot; he said, noting that state Rep. Bryant Hammett has been successful in lobbying for funding for a variety of local projects.

&uot;Another thing that’s helped us is we’ve been able to come up with a local match&uot; on many projects, Copeland said.

In the recent past, Vidalia has received state funding for an industrial park, loading and unloading facility, the welcome center and the riverfront development.

The Gateway and Welcome Center will be about 25,000 square feet and will house a welcome center, conference facilities, chamber of commerce offices and an interpretive exhibit/display area.

Vidalia has received federal, state and local funding for the project &045;&045; capital outlay grants, state funding for the visitor’s center and a local contribution of land.

The meeting space will be about 9,000 square feet and will be able hold between 800 to 1,000 people.

The facility will be located along the riverfront.

Town officials held a ground-breaking for the facility earlier this month, with Gov. Kathleen Blanco on hand for the event. Construction was expected to begin shortly, but the high bids will delay the project. Once construction begins, it is expected to take about a year.