Gov. Robert Bentley has awarded grants totaling $150,000 to help four Alabama towns and cities chart a course to a better future for each community.
Bentley awarded planning grants of $40,000 each to Eclectic, Gurley and Troy and a $30,000 planning grant to Summerdale.
The Community Development Block Grants will help the municipalities expand job opportunities and improve life for residents by developing strategic plans that address infrastructure, recreation, tourism and industrial development, downtown revitalization, and other community needs.
“You have to know where you are going to get there,” Bentley said. “A comprehensive plan developed with this funding will serve as both a roadmap and a compass, helping each community chart and reach its desired destination.”
• The town of Eclectic in Elmore County will contract with the Central Alabama Regional Planning and Development Agency to develop an overall plan that examines economic development, downtown revitalization, infrastructure needs and maintenance and organization of local government. The town’s goal is to encourage orderly growth while enhancing the quality of life for its 1,072 residents.
• The town of Gurley, located in Madison County, is seeking a plan that will provide solutions to drainage and storm-water runoff problems. The plan will examine existing drainage features and methods and offer best remedies and funding sources. Much of the information contained in the plan will be gathered by geographic information system mapping, a high-tech program that gathers and analyzes information using satellite imagery and other data.
• The town of Summerdale in Baldwin County will upgrade its 28-year-old comprehensive plan. The new plan will help city leaders make decisions about the city’s future by examining infrastructure, land use, transportation, community facilities and services and other issues dealing with growth and priorities.
• The city of Troy in Pike County will use its grant to develop a plan for revitalizing downtown. Home to Troy University, the city continues to grow but officials want the downtown commercial districts to have the same vitality as the outlying areas bordering U.S. highways 231 and 29. The plan will help city leaders examine preservation and occupation of existing buildings, elimination of blighted conditions and methods to attract people to the downtown area.
Bentley awarded the grants from funds made available to the state by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs will administer the grants.
ADECA manages a wide range of programs that support law enforcement, economic development, workforce development, recreation, energy conservation and water resource management.
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Contact Jim Plott or Larry Childers