Brantley receives 400k in grant funds
Published 9:56 am Friday, June 23, 2017
By: Shayla Terry
Early in the year the town of Brantley applied for transportation and alternative programs grant from the state government. Brantley has been awarded the grant in the amount of $400,000.
“It will basically be used to beatify our community,” said Brantley administrator Phillip Mosely. “We also hoping to improve on some of the city infrastructure and improve our sidewalks in the downtown area.”
Brantley plans on combining the grant with a community block and development grant (CDBG) to increase the amount of work that can be done in the town. The CDBG grant will be in the amount of $350,000.
“We just finished a CDBG grant that covered the sewage line replacement on the east side of town,” Mosely said.
CDBG grants require about six months to process, while Brantley will have two years to utilize the money that has been awarded to it through the TAP grant. Brantley is working with Troy Hudson Engineering to secure the grant.
TAP grants are designated for function of pedestrians both on and off of the road. Things that are grouped into this category are: bicycle facilities, infrastructure projects for improving non-driver access to public transportation and enhanced mobility, community improvement activities such as historic preservation and vegetation management, recreational trail projects and safe routes to school projects. For 2017 the federal government has reserved $850 million for TAP grants to be distributed.
“331 is one of the most heavily traveled highways in the state of Alabama,” Brantley mayor Bernie Sullivan said. “Hopefully this will enhance our downtown so that people will take some interest and bring more stores to Brantley like in Luverne, Florala and Opp when they did their renovation.”
Brantley will be working in partnership with the Alabama department of transportation to complete the project.
“It’s still a long way to go before we break ground and get it started,” Sullivan said. “We’re going to discuss and figure out what touches we really want on our city, but we are beyond excited.
