MONTGOMERY – Gov. Robert Bentley has awarded Community Development Block Grants totaling $1.1 million to improve living conditions and alleviate health and safety issues in four north Alabama communities.
In DeKalb County, a $350,000 grant will help the town of Collinsville with a sewer rehabilitation project, and a $188,442 grant will assist the town of Fyffe to remove blighted structures. A $250,000 grant will help Madison County improve water service in the Hazel Green Village Neighborhood. The town of Owens Cross Roads, also in Madison County, will use a $350,000 grant for a sewer rehabilitation project.
“Community Development Block Grants help important Alabama communities take on important projects that they otherwise would be unable to afford,” said Bentley. “I am pleased to provide support for these improvements and the benefits they will bring to hundreds of north Alabama residents.”
Collinsville will rehabilitate 25 manholes, replace 89 service lines to customers and re-line more than 3,000 feet of aged, cracked sewer line. The project will benefit 227 residents near U.S. Highway 11, including K.C. Lane, Hall Avenue and Broad, Church, Dogwood, First, Newman and Spring streets. The town is providing $50,000 to supplement the grant.
Fyffe will demolish 25 structures that are severely deteriorated and deemed unsafe. Many of the structures are dilapidated barns and chicken houses that have been vacant for years and abandoned by the property owners. Fyffe is providing $18,866 toward the project.
Madison County will upgrade the water system that serves the Hazel Green Village Neighborhood, which includes Allred, Joe Quick, Macon and Tillman roads and Clark, Dudley, Trojan, Warden and Wooley drives. The project will replace the water mains and install larger diameter water lines. The larger lines will allow for the installation of fire hydrants to improve fire protection for 154 homes in the area. The county is contributing $57,000 and all construction materials and the water department is providing engineering and inspection services.
Owens Cross Roads will rehabilitate part of the sewer system that serves TE McKinney Circle, Sneed Avenue, Wall Street and a portion of Old U.S. Highway 431. The project will help alleviate health and safety issues caused by sewage backup in homes, overflowing manholes and untreated sewage being discharged from the treatment plant. The town is providing $35,000 toward the project.
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grants from funding made available to the state by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. ADECA administers a wide range of programs that support law enforcement, workforce development, energy conservation, economic development, water resource management and recreation.
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Contact: Josh Carples; Mike Presley
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