SCFG commits to  $3.8 million expansion

Following a public hearing Tuesday afternoon to allow citizens an opportunity for input into a potential application for Community Development Block Grant Competitive and Economic Development funding, the Brundidge City Council voted in favor of resolutions to make application for the grants.

The Council voted to apply for a CDBG Competitive Fund Grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) for an amount of $350,000.

Brundidge City Manager Britt Thomas said grant funds will be used for the purpose of providing much needed sewer improvements at the city’s three pumping stations in various locations in the city.

“The Council will submit an application to ADECA for $350,000 for the purpose of obtaining grant funds for necessary improvements to the three pumping stations as proposed for a project cost of $744,000,” Thomas said. “Due to the critical nature of the need, the City of Brundidge will provide matching funds in the amount of $394,000.”

Should the project be approved, Thomas said the City will operate and maintain the pump stations that will be improved.

The Council also approved a resolution allowing the City to make application for grant funding that will accommodate expansion at Southern Classic Food Group.

Thomas said Southern Classic Food Group has committed to a $3.8 million expansion to their facilities and operations to create 49 new fulltime jobs in Brundidge.

“Existing infrastructure– the sewer lines and pump station– is aged and undersized to handle the additional flow anticipated once the expansion is complete,” Thomas said. “In order to accommodate the expansion, the City requires additional capacity to meet the higher sewer demand.”

To meet this higher sewer demand, Thomas said the City is seeking assistance from ADECA for a CDBG grant to finance the construction of the North Industrial Park Force Main Expansion. The grant requires a 20 percent match or enough matching funds to construct the proposed project.

The Council voted to make application to ADECA for an Economic Development Fund Infrastructure CDBD grant in the amount of $173,438 to finance the construction of sewer upgrades and to meet Southern Classic Food Groups’ increased demand due to the new expansion.

In accordance with the application, the Council committed $34,688 in local funds to meet the matching requirement for the grant.

The local matches for the grants will not require an increase in the residential sewer rates.

The Brundidge City Council meets at 4 p.m. the first and third Tuesdays of the month at Brundidge City Hall. The meetings are open to the public.