Atmore receives grant

Published 11:42 pm Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Damaged sewer lines throughout Escambia County will undergo a series of repairs soon thanks to a $1.25 million Community Development Block Grant awarded to the municipalities of Atmore, Brewton and Flomaton by Gov. Robert Bentley.

The cities of Atmore and Brewton will each receive grants of $450,000 for the repairs, while Flomaton will receive $350,000.

The grants will be administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs from funds made available to the state by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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Bentley said the grants should help ease the financial strain the cost of maintaining the infrastructure would otherwise place on the three cities.

“Without grant assistance, the vital projects would create a huge burden for strained local budgets,” Bentley said. “I am pleased we can help Atmore, Brewton and Flomaton improve the quality of life for their residents.”

The grants will enable the rehabilitation of sections of older clay sewer lines that have developed cracks and been the source of frequent sewer leaks. New lining is set to be placed inside the old pipes in order to cover the cracks and eliminate the leaks. The liners are scheduled to be installed by robotic equipment controlled by workers using video cameras.

Repair plans for Atmore include the rehabilitation of sections of a sewer line along Wilson Avenue. The project will benefit 144 people.
Plans for Flomaton include repairs along an area of downtown boarded to the north by U.S. Highway 31 and Roosevelt Street, to the south by College Street, to the east by U.S. Highway 29 and to the west by Ringold Avenue. The repairs will benefit 154 people.

Rehabilitation to the Brewton system will have the largest impact in the county, with an expected benefit to 448 people. The repairs will reline sewer pipes in the Alco neighborhood.

Bentley notified mayors Howard Shell of Atmore, Ted Jennings of Brewton and Dewey Bondurant of Flomaton of the approval of the grants.

Shell said the City of Atmore is thankful for the funds and the opportunity to make some much needed improvement to the sewer system.

“Anytime we get a grant to make improvements to our infrastructure is good for the city, and we certainly appreciate ADECA and the governor for including Atmore in this round of grants,” Shell said.

Shell said the city must now undergo a compliance process with the state before a start date for the work can be set.

“They are going through the initial stages,” Shell said. “We’ve got to have a representative attend a meeting next Wednesday in Montgomery. They’ll go over different things you need to do in order to stay in compliance with getting the grant. How you need to allocate the money and all of that.”

Shell said, following the compliance process, the city would receive a notification authorizing them to begin accepting bids from companies interested in performing the rehabilitation work.