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Landers Center timeline confirmed; board approves landscaping contractor after auditor review
Summary
Architects told the Board construction pauses at the Landers site will begin June 1, theater work is slated to start in July with events resuming by late August 2026; the Board also approved multiple Landers‑site contracts, including awarding the landscaping portion to Michael Hatcher & Associates after State Auditor consultation (motion passed with one NO).
AERC architects told the DeSoto County Board of Supervisors on May 4 that the Landers Center site shutdown is scheduled for June 1, the theater package is out to bid with work starting in July, and the team expects about 12 months of construction from now with events resuming around the end of August 2026.
Architects Doug Thornton and Adam Moore said they had not received word from the hotelier. The Board also considered procurement items connected to the Landers expansion. Procurement recommended awards across multiple packages; after consultation with the State Auditor’s office to confirm conflict‑of‑interest questions, the Board awarded the landscaping portion of bid #BP07 to Michael Hatcher & Associates and authorized the contract despite one dissenting vote from Supervisor Mark Gardner.
Separately, Fossett Paving Company was chosen as the low bidder for asphalt work at the Agri‑Education Center site and AERC was selected for space‑planning services for county buildings. Board Attorney Adam Emerson advised the Board that the auditor concluded there was no conflict of interest for the Michael Hatcher award because the bidder would not have had access to nonpublic procurement information.
The landscaping award passed with one supervisor voting NO; most other Landers‑related procurement decisions were unanimous. No new timetable for the hotelier was reported at the meeting.
