VIDALIA — Officials are hoping to let the bids for the new Vidalia municipal complex by mid-spring, Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland said.

Meanwhile, the city is waiting for its loan application to be processed through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development office.

“It is getting late in the year, and it is hard to get anything done before Christmas,” Copeland said.

While he said that he expects to get the word about the project — including how much of the funds the city gets will be a loan and how much will be a grant — soon, Copeland said construction isn’t going to be able to start right away.

“We are getting ready to get to go into January or February, and it is hard to get any construction started then,” he said. “Those are two of the nastiest months of the year.”

Because of that, Copeland said the city will likely advertise for bids for the 30,000 square-foot project starting in March.

Bid law requires a 30-day advertising period, and so Copeland said the city government would probably accept the bids in April and — after having a pre-construction conference — award the bids.

“Hopefully, they can start construction almost immediately,” he said.

Plans for the new complex, which will include the City Hall, and the police and fire stations have been in the works since March. The current police and fire station complex is too small to meet current demands, and portions of City Hall had to be sealed off because it was infested with black mold.

The complex will be located near Kaiser’s Mobile Station on U.S. 84., and the City Hall portion will be 10,000 square-feet, while the fire station will be 12,000 square-feet and the police station will be 10,000 square feet.

The current fire station will be used as a substation once the construction is complete.