VIDALIA — Getting final financial matters ironed out will be the next step for the City of Vidalia to start work on its new municipal complex, Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland said.

The loan to finance the complex will come through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“We are waiting to sit down with the USDA and work out the financial issues there,” he said.

“When you deal with government entities it takes time, sometimes more so than we anticipated.”

Once the fine details are worked out, the next step will be to get architectural renderings completed, and Copeland said he hopes to have the architectural renderings for the complex in hand for this week.

“We have already told (USDA) what it is going to look like, but we haven’t shown them a final rendition,” he said.

Once the loan is approved, the city will take the project to the state bond commission, a step that has to be completed any time a municipality takes on new debt.

“We are strong enough financially to take care of the project,” Copeland said. “We hope within 90 days to be able to have it ready to go to bid and go before the bond commission.”

While Copeland said he hopes to see the project start by mid-summer, some circumstances — such as environmental concerns — will have to be taken into consideration.

“With the river up so high right now, we don’t know what the river will do as far as seepage water is concerned,” he said. “Those are issues we will have to address as they come to us.”

The new complex will be located on U.S. 84 near Walmart and the near the site of the planned Recreation District No. 3 recreation complex.

The complex will include a new city hall, a new fire station and a new police station.