13-86-CWS | July 19, 2013
BILOXI, Miss. – Officials with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources have accepted the bids for two recreational fishing boats and will award them to the two highest bidders.
The Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources opened the 26 bids at its meeting Tuesday, July 16, and a committee reviewed them and decided to accept them. Officials with MDMR have contacted the state Department of Finance and Administration to confirm the bid process and the awards.
The highest bid on the 42-foot Californian was $87,500 made by Michael P. O’Dwyer of Pass Christian. The highest bid on the 36-foot Topaz was $38,614.05 made by Anthony Fournier of D’Iberville.
The MDMR took possession of the boats early in June and have continued to provide normal maintenance, including staff time, to keep the vessels operational.
“We will recover over $150,000 of taxpayer dollars by selling the two vessels and retaining the electronics for agency vessels actually used for marine research and law enforcement,” said MDMR Executive Director Jamie Miller. “It is time to move forward and stop spending time and resources maintaining these vessels.”
Jimmy Taylor, chairman of the MCMR, said Commission members wanted the process to be public.
“We felt it was important to open the sealed bids in a public meeting,” he said. “This is taxpayer money, and everyone deserved to know what the bids were. Now we can put this behind us and get on with the business of the agency.”
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources is dedicated to enhancing, protecting and conserving marine interests of the state by managing all marine life, public trust wetlands, adjacent uplands and waterfront areas to provide for the optimal commercial, recreational, educational and economic uses of these resources consistent with environmental concerns and social changes. Visit the DMR online at www.dmr.ms.gov.
Contact: Melissa Scallan
Phone: 228-523-4124
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