MONTGOMERY— Gov. Robert Bentley has awarded three grants to improve the quality of life in Wetumpka and Prattville and improve traffic safety in Coosa County.
Bentley awarded a $450,000 Community Development Block Grant for the revitalization of downtown Wetumpka and a $250,000 grant for Prattville to build a ball field specifically for residents with severe disabilities. Coosa County received a $281,300 award for resurfacing or paving several roads.
“Community Development Block Grants help make Alabama and its towns, cities and counties better places to live,” Bentley. “I am pleased to assist local officials who are working hard to improve their communities.”
Wetumpka will use grant funding to replace or repair water and sewer lines and improve drainage in the downtown business district. City officials say the improvements will complement a project to replace sidewalks and resurface streets that is being financed with other funds obtained by the city. Wetumpka is providing $200,000 in local funding for the project.
Prattville will devote its grant to meeting the recreation needs of children and adults with disabilities. The city will build a special ball field adjacent to the Prattville East YMCA, Daniel Pratt Elementary School and the Louise M. Smith Development Center, a facility that provides a day program for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Sixteen public and private partners have pledged $140,000 in additional funding for the project.
The grant to Coosa County will be used to widen, pave or resurface several roads in the eastern part of the county. More than 160 people live along the roads and school buses routinely travel the area. The county has pledged up to $36,880 in local funding.
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the awards from funds made available to the state by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Bentley notified Mayors Jerry Willis of Wetumpka and Bill Gillespie Jr. of Prattville and Commission Chairman Todd J. Adams of Coosa County that funding had been approved.
Contact: Jim Plott, Larry Childers