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Mayor Ford announces $690,000 grant for pedestrian bridge; Horton Bend wins state water-tasting contest
Summary
Mayor Craig Ford told the council the city received a $690,000 Innovate Alabama grant to plan a pedestrian bridge across the Coosa River and said an MOU with a hotel developer is in place; the meeting also recognized Horton Bend Water Authority for winning the 2026 Alabama Rural Water Association tasting contest and a national invitation.
Mayor Craig Ford used his remarks at the June 2 meeting to highlight recent grant awards and local achievements. He said the city applied for and received an Innovate Alabama grant of $690,000 to plan a pedestrian bridge across the Coosa River that would connect the East Side to downtown and improve connectivity to the venue and a planned hotel.
The mayor said the grant will reduce pressure on the general fund by paying for planning and design work. He also told the council the city has a memorandum of understanding with a hotel developer that could locate near the venue, and that the planned pedestrian bridge would link the hotel and venue. Council comments framed the bridge as a potential economic-development and connectivity project for downtown.
The council also recognized Mary Thomas, business manager for the Horton Bend Water Authority, who said Horton Bend won the 2026 Alabama Rural Water Association water-tasting contest and has been invited to the national rural-water tasting competition in Washington, D.C. Thomas described the award as a point of pride for the Horton Bend community and thanked the Gadsden Waterworks and Sewer Board for its role in water treatment.
Both announcements were framed as community-boosting developments: a grant advancing infrastructure planning and an award highlighting local utilities and service quality.
