The cities of Luverne and Brantley and Crenshaw County as a whole received a windfall Monday with the announcement that $1.2 million will soon flow in.

Sen. Wendell Mitchell and Rep. Charles Newton joined Mayor Joe Rex Sport, Mayor Bernie Sullivan and Commission Chairman Ronnie Blackmon in announcing the grants for upcoming projects.

&uot;We are fortunate to have aggressive leaders in our cities and county who seek out federal and state funds to help the citizens we all serve,&uot; Mitchell said.

&uot;I am delighted that these important projects have been funded at such a significant level.&uot;

The Community Development Block Grant of $400,000 in Luverne will be used for downtown redevelopment and will include 6,000 linear feet of street improvements, 1,800 linear feet of 6&uot; replacement PVC water lines, 1,600 linear feet of 8&uot; sewer pipe lining and will increase and improve parking areas.

The funds will benefit approximately 1,240 residents of the city and 646 households.

The city of Luverne committed $40,000 as local matching funds while the HUD Office of Special Projects committed $100,000 and the Environmental Protection Agency committed $111,600.

&uot;These improvements will make downtown more attractive for those passing through as well as those who live here,&uot; Sport said.

&uot;It will be an inconvenience for everyone, but it is surely worth being inconvenienced for.&uot;

The CDBG for Brantley will be used to improve sewer and drainage in the eastern area of the town.

Residents have faced sewage back-ups into their homes due to poor conditions at the sewer main, and poor drainage causes water to stand and stagnate in ditches throughout the area.

The funds will benefit 286 people in 134 households.

The town will give $12,000 in matching funds.

Mayor Sullivan thanks Mitchell and Newton for their work in obtaining the grants.

He said it is important the towns to work with the state to improve life for everyone.

&uot;It is an ‘us’ thing, rather than an ‘I,’&uot; he said.

The grant given to the county will be used to relocate and replace a vital 6&uot; water main on Daniel Branch Road as well as road improvement and paving needs along the road.

The water main serves as the only connector between two major water tanks and is routinely damaged each year.

In addition, travel along the roadway is currently unsafe due to the presence of holes; washed out areas, mud pits and roughness due to ridging and rutting.

This improvement will affect 105 people in 41 households.

The total estimated project cost is $822,893 with $400,000 coming from ADECA and $422,893 from Crenshaw County in the form of in-kind labor and equipment use.

Blackmon said this is the culmination of a team effort and that it is important to resurface the road in question.

&uot;This is the first dirt road paying project in Crenshaw County since 1990,&uot; he said.

Mitchell and Newton, who represent Crenshaw County in Alabama Legislature, spearheaded the acquisition of these funds and expressed their happiness for such an influx of monies to support the projects.

&uot;I regard the acquisition of these funds as the culmination of hard work by the city and county leadership and I know these projects will significantly improve the quality of life for those served by these improvements,&uot; Newton said.