County commission approves to use American Rescue Plans Act funds for long term capital improvements
Funds received by the Shelby County Commission from the Coronavirus State and Local Recovery Fund (established under the American Rescue Plan Act) will be used for long-term capital improvements that will better serve the county for years to come.
The $21,143,031, the first half of the funds which were received in May 2021, was added to the operating budget which was amended to reflect the amount.
County manager Chad Scroggins said that they were trying to look at projects that would have a life of 20 years and affect all residents of Shelby County.
The Water Services Infrastructure Project will benefit its wholesale and residential users. The $9,400,00 project will complete the infrastructure improvements and expansion of the ductile iron water line on CR-280 from U.S. 280 near the Narrows down to Harpersville.
The Emergency Response Communication Systems Infrastructure Project that will serve all residents of the county. The $8 million project will improve the P25 radio system infrastructure covering the entire county and improve the number of channels (call volume), the coverage area (eliminate holds in the coverage area in Pelham, Alabaster and Dunnavant and Vandiver). It will also provide a system to accommodate a regional approach by utilizing simulcasting to free up frequencies for neighboring counties. The project will include Shelby County owning two of the three new towers with no new lease obligations.
“There has been about 18 months of research on this project that will add more frequencies and add more capacity and coverage on the radio systems used by first responders,” Scroggins said. “We have holes in this county and this is a major issue and this gives us an opportunity for us to invest these funds to cover all of the county so everyone can benefit from this.”
Scroggins said this opportunity will help the county long term and is a win-win, aso they will not have to use the monies out of their own funds.
Sheriff John Samaniego said that his department has been operating on bandaids for a long time now and this is definitely what they need.
“We’ve got to get some sort of communication there for the safety of our deputies and citizens,” he said. “Chad and I have talked about it. It's a no-brainer but I appreciate it very much.”
Scroggins said that the bids for the projects will be open soon and that they will not “sit on the shelf.” The project will open bids on July 28 and should award bids at the first commission meeting in August.
Other items Scroggins mentioned in his report included:
- Park grants initiatives are continuing
- Construction continues on the 280 County Services Building
- Road resurfacing is taking place on U.S. 280
- Lots of weekend events have been taking place throughout the county
- The mention of George Bentley, who provided insurance services to the county for many years had passed away
Other resolutions approved during the meeting include:
- A bid for bill printing and mail services for the water operations department to DATAprose for $13,770.00
- Approval for a traffic signal at CR-17 and CR-26 to Stone and Sons Electrical in the amount of $152,157.40.
- A bid for road sign and traffic safety material to Vulcan Sign
- Committed to pay a 20% local match of $20,136 to be shared with other participating municipalities to be recognized as a member of the Clastran Transportation Steering Committee.
The next Shelby County Commission meeting will be held Monday, July 26 at 6 p.m. at the Shelby County Administration Building.