VIDALIA — The Vidalia Board of Aldermen voted Monday to pay $103,000 in legal fees the mayor accrued while defending himself during a conspiracy inquiry by the FBI.

The inquiry, which began in August 2015, ended in February when Special Agent Jeffrey A. Goins said in an email to the Louisiana State Bond Commission that he would recommend the matter be closed because his review of the matter in question found “there is not currently a prosecutable violation.”

The FBI started the review after allegations of real estate conspiracy were leveled against Mayor Hyram Copeland — notably by former Secretary of State Al Ater — in connection with the proposed Square on Carter project, a plan for the city to purchase and improve 65 acres of land near the western end of Vidalia in the hope of luring in developers.

Copeland was a one-time owner of one of the tracts of property proposed for the site, though he had sold out his portion five years before the plan was publicly floated. A former business partner, Bryant Hammett, still owned a share of the property in question, and one of the allegations against Copeland was that he was part of a conspiracy to inflate the property’s value.

Copeland has maintained he was not a part of the valuation process for the property and never had any contact with the appraisers involved.

While the inquiry was ongoing, Copeland hired attorney Mike Small of Alexandria to represent him if needed, Vidalia City Attorney Scott McLemore said.

Now that the inquiry is closed, the mayor is seeking reimbursement for those legal fees. While the state does not have a particular statue that dictates how that can be done, several attorney general’s opinions have been issued that allow municipalities to be reimbursed in similar situations, McLemore said.

Alderman Tron McCoy said the city in paying the bill “will seek recovery from the insurance that may be available in this instance.”

Copeland declined to comment on the matter Tuesday evening.

The Louisiana Attorney General’s Office issued an opinion in late December saying the Square proposal does not meet constitutional guidelines for economic development projects.

In other news, the board voted to award a bid of approximately $630,000 to Womack & Sons Construction Group for improvements to the Vidalia Riverfront in advance of the location of TownePlace Suites, a 51,000-square foot hotel with 90 rooms owned by the Desai Hotel Group.

The city will build the parking lot for the hotel, which will be used for public parking on the Riverfront, as well as the sidewalks, Concordia Economic Development Director Heather Malone said.

The cost of the new infrastructure will be recouped through a Tax-Increment Financing system.

In this instance, the hotel will charge an additional 2 percent sales tax and 2 percent occupancy tax to repay the expenses that the city took on upfront, Malone said.

When Vidalia resident Bill McDonough interjected that he didn’t believe the city should be spending tax money on a private development, Copeland responded that it was similar to what the city did when Comfort Suites located on the Riverfront.

Desai Hotel Group already owns the Holiday Inn Express in Natchez, and has leased 3.7 acres on the Vidalia Riverfront since July 2014.

The lease agreement calls for annual payments of $33,000 an acre for five years for the right to use the land — which is south of Promise Hospital — for 99 years.