DRA awards local grants
MONTGOMERY, Ala.—The Delta Regional Authority (DRA), together with its federal and locally-based partners, announced more than $4 million in new investments aimed at strengthening Alabama’s infrastructure, workforce, and economy on Tuesday.
Specifically, the new investments, including more than $1 million in direct DRA resources, will help create a new entrepreneurial support center in Dallas County and improve the roads and water infrastructure in Hurtsboro, Moldwood near York, and Fulton, as well as support tourism around Selma’s role in the Civil Rights movement.
Locally, Camden and York received a total of $432,008. Camden was awarded $200,000 to upgrade Bridgeport Landing, which provides access to the William ‘Bill’ Dannelly Reservoir on the Alabama River (also known as Millers Ferry). The area has been the site of large fishing tournaments which have played a vital role in Camden’s economy in the past.
“We appreciate the DRA’s investment in our area,” said Camden Mayor Phil Creswell. “In addition to the $200,000 granted by the Delta Regional Authority, we also have another $200,000 coming from another agency that will actually provide us with $400,000 to put towards the Bridgeport project this year, and we hope to have another $600,000 for next year.”
Phase I of Camden’s Bridgeport project was planned with an estimated budget of $500,000, so Creswell said some of the Phase I goals may have to be rolled over into Phase II.
“Phase I was planned through community meetings and we really took to heart what our local community felt we needed at Bridgeport. Phase I is planned to include expanding parking to 175 truck and trailer spaces, replacing the split boat launch and with a more open launch that will double the capacity to four boats at a time, adding some T-docks, a pavilion, and bathrooms facilities on the water,” said Creswell.
“Of course, we may have to cut back a little bit since we’re about $100,000 short on funds for Phase I, so we may cut back the parking or something like that to stay within budget.”
James Lawler, long-time supporter of the outdoors in Wilcox County and host of the weekly Gettin’ Outdoors with Big Daddy Lawler radio show, said he’s encouraged by the DRA’s decision to invest in such an impactful project for the area.
“Although I am disappointed in the amount, I am very encouraged that the DRA is investing in a very cost-effective project. The economic impact our lake [Millers Ferry] has on Wilcox County is as constant as any brick and mortar industry in the Alabama Black Belt,” said Lawler.
Creswell said he hopes to break ground on the project by June or July of 2017.
“We’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us like engineering and such, but we’ve been told that our funds will be available about mid-year, and we want to get started as soon as possible,” said Creswell.
The City of York received $232,008 to replace the current Moldwood wet well/dry well lift station located on Mallard Drive. The project will replace the station with a new duplex submersible station, benefitting around 100 residents by reducing safety and health risks associated with the old station.
York Mayor Gena Robbins said that having the DRA’s commitment to a small, rural community like York allows the city to provide the highest quality of life for it’s residents even while facing limited resources.
“In a city like York, a $232,000 grant is just huge. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a lot of money for any city, but for a rural Black Belt town like York, this is a dream come true,” said Robbins.
The Moldwood lift station is at the site of the old moldwood plant in York, and despite the plant no longer being active, the site is still an industrial park that the city is trying to attract industry to.
“This grant is advantageous for three reasons,” said Robbins. “One, there are 100-plus residents who live near this station and rely on it for wastewater treatment. Two, this station is in an industrial park that we are actively trying to bring industry to, and three, this station is the last old-style station left in our town, so replacing it with the new station will afford us both a new safety level and reduce the maintenance costs associated with the older, outdated station.”
“We are proud to have the Delta Regional Authority as such a strong partner in our Black Belt Region,” said Alabama Governor Robert Bentley.
“These grants will be used for a variety of projects that will improve infrastructure, promote economic development and provide basic services to many of our West Alabama counties. We look forward to a continued strong partnership with the DRA, for many years to come.”
Terri Sewell, U.S Representative for Alabama’s 7th Congressional District said she is thankful for the DRA’s partnership.
“As the representative for Alabama’s 7th Congressional District, creating opportunities that produce quality jobs for the constituents of the district is my number one priority. Throughout my time in office, Chairman Masingill and the Delta Regional Authority has been a stalwart ally in facilitating critical new investments in the Black Belt region, and I am tremendously grateful for this partnership,” said Sewell.
“Including more than $1 million in direct DRA resources, these latest investments will not only strengthen Alabama’s infrastructure and workforce development efforts, but will also expand tourism around Selma’s role in the Civil Rights movement through the investment in the Selma Interpretive Center. These types of federal-state partnerships are key to the continued growth and development of our region.”
A complete list of the DRA’s economic investments statewide is below:
1. DALLAS COUNTY: Support Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center. DRA Investment: $100,000. Total Investment: $310,000. This project will recruit and develop entrepreneurial businesses that want to locate to the region. The center will be a space where these businesses can develop into healthy companies in 2 – 3 years. The center anticipates launching 10 new companies within 3 years and creating 20 full time and part time jobs within that time frame.
2. SELMA: Expand Selma Interpretive Center. DRA Investment: $100,000. Total Investment: $1,420,000. The City of Selma in conjunction with the National Park Service is working on the expansion of the Selma Interpretive Center, which focuses on educating individuals regarding the Civil Rights Movement.
3. STATEWIDE: Drive Workforce Development Initiatives. DRA Investment: $73,696. Total Investment: $73,696. This project will align regional workforce development initiatives with a local employer’s workforce training program to provide jobs to regional workers and improve workforce competitiveness. The initiative will provide soft and technical skills to workers as well as market the program regionally. Ultimately, the Aluminum Structural Welder Program will lead to 40 jobs at Austal.
4. CLARKE COUNTY: Rehabilitate Regional Workforce Training Center. DRA Investment: $105,000. Total Investment: $537,125. The Clarke County School District will rehabilitate an existing armory for use as a Workforce Training Center. The center will train approximately 200 students annually.
5. FULTON: Improve Access to Industrial Area. DRA Investment: $94,191. Total Investment: $958,566. The Town of Fulton will use resources to cover industrial access engineering costs not covered by the state. The project will eliminate a major safety hazard.
6. MOLDWOOD: Replace Lift Station. DRA Investment: $232,008. Total Investment: $232,008. The replacement of the Moldwood lift station, which serves low-income residents in the City of York, will benefit approximately 100 citizens. By replacing the existing sanitary sewer wet well/dry well lift station with a new duplex submersible lift station, the safety and health risks associated with the old design can be significantly reduced.
7. HURTSBORO: Improvements to Streets and Water Drainage. DRA Investment: $25,000. Total Investment: $331,000. Hurtsboro will improve five deteriorating streets, including one that is part of the truck route through town, reduce storm water inflow and infiltration of the sewer system, and mitigate flooding.
8. CAMDEN: Upgrade Bridgeport Landing. DRA Investment: $200,000. Total Investment: $200,000. The City of Camden will upgrade the Bridgeport Landing Park, which is used for large fishing tournaments and support a thriving tourism industry.
9. BUTLER COUNTY: Improvement to Two Roads. DRA Investment: $155,500. Total Investment: $331,429.The project will improve two substandard roads in Butler County, including fixing overlying patches, potholes, cracks, and depressions.
DRA leadership works closely with the Governor of each state and his board designee to identify projects to receive economic development investments, all of which are aligned with state development goals.
About the Delta Regional Authority
The Delta Regional Authority is a federal-state partnership created by Congress in 2000 to help create jobs, build communities, and improve lives through strategic investments in economic development in 252 counties and parishes across eight states. To date, the DRA’s SEDAP investments, together with its state and local partners, have leveraged $138 million in federal resources into more than $2.9 billion in public and private investment into local small business owners, entrepreneurs, workers, and infrastructure development projects. These investments have helped create or retain more than 26,000 jobs since the DRA was established. Learn more at dra.gov.