City to repay $71,517 from ADECA grant proceeds
Demopolis will repay $71,517 of $421,517 in grant funds the city received from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs for rail spur improvements at the Demopolis Airport Industrial Park.
The repayment became necessary when the city was not able to meet its commitment of providing 100 new jobs in exchange for the grant funding. An outside company, CTCO Shipyard of Alabama LLC, had pledged to create the jobs, but was not able fulfill that promise, according to a statement by Marengo County Economic Development Authority Director Brenda Tuck.
She explained to the council that repayment of the full $421,517 had been reduced to $71,517 because the city was able to negotiate a $10,000 credit for each of the 35 jobs that have been created along the rail spur.
Council member Harris Nelson moved to approve the repayment “considering that we cannot apply for other grants until this is resolved.”
The council voted unanimously to approve the repayment, after which council member Bill Meador expressed appreciation to the Alabama-Tombigbee Regional Commission and ADECA for their assistance in resolving the matter.
In other business at Thursday’s council meeting, City Attorney Bill Poole told the council he had received three bids for demolition of the Newton Tire location on U.S. 80 and a residential property at 609 W. Pettus. Both structures were destroyed by fire. Poole said he needs to follow up with the bidders to clarify portions of each bid, and hopes the council can vote on accepting the bids at next meeting.
Al Garrett, president of Robertson Banking Company, appeared before the council seeking a change to the current truck route. The present route takes heavy trucks by the bank and through a corner of downtown at the intersection of Walnut and Capitol. He reminded the council that he had cited safety concerns when addressing the matter at previous meetings.
Mayor Mike Grayson acknowledged the safety concerns, but added those same concerns would be present if the route were altered to go through a residential area. He further noted that getting utility and drainage issues into suitable
condition along an alternate route would cost approximately $1 million, although the state has agreed to a one-time $360,000 contribution toward the work. At the request of the council, the mayor will discuss the issue further with the Alabama Department of Transportation.
At meeting’s end, Demopolis resident Aliquippa Allen expressed concern about putting the truck route through a residential area. She asked the city to find grant money for an engineering study to determine the best route. “Moving sidewalks into people’s front yards is not in the best interest of the city,” she told the council.
The mayor announced that the police department’s annual National Night Out will be held Aug. 5 at the Middle School Field, and also noted that sales tax collections for June were up 8.88% over last year, and revenues are up 4.63% year-to-date.
The council approved Grayson’s request to attend the Economic Development Association’s summer conference at Point Clear at an approximate cost of $600.
Fire Chief Tommy Tate informed the council that Demopolis improved from its last ISO (fire) rating from five years ago, but was still one point away from moving to a Class 3 designation, which would likely have resulted in lower property insurance costs. Tate said his department is determined to achieve lower rating in its next inspection.