By Morgan Bryce
Associate Editor
The Opelika City Council approved a resolution during its regular meeting Tuesday night to apply for state funding for improvements to a major thoroughfare in downtown.
Assistant City Engineer John Gwin explained that the application is for the Alabama Department of Transportation’s TAP Grant to enhance the streetscape along First Avenue between Seventh and Eighth streets. City Attorney Guy Gunter said that the project’s cost will not exceed $500,000. According to ALDOT’s website, the TAP grant is a statewide initiative whose monies are used to improve the overall infrastructure and aesthetic of city streets.
The council also authorized additional funding for a project done by Stone and Sons Electrical Contractors of Birmingham that provided five different city intersections with traffic signal upgrades, bringing the total amount to $252,338.
In other business, the council:
– revised the city’s Floodplain Damage Prevention Ordinance to meet new directives recently set by FEMA
– approved a bid for the purchase of a new records management and state recording system for the fire department
– approved a lease of property to Eco-Site LLC for the construction of a radio and communications tower
– approved a contract renewal with GRS Government Services LLC that helps the city collect lodging, sales, business license taxes and more
– appointed Haley Wilder to the Downtown Redevelopment Authority.