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Senior planner leads Aliceville ACE town hall; residents prioritize workforce training, transport and brownfield cleanup
Summary
At an Aliceville ACE town hall, West Alabama Regional Commission senior planner Pamela T. relaunched the city's Alabama Communities of Excellence process under the Delta Thrives grant and collected community priorities including workforce training, rural transportation, brownfield cleanup of the old cotton mill, food access and a potential fire-station upgrade.
Pamela T., senior planner with the West Alabama Regional Commission, led a town-hall meeting in Aliceville to relaunch the city's work under the Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE) program and the Delta Thrives initiative, gathering public input to shape a priorities list for future grant applications.
The meeting, convened by Mayor Aljeene Strickland, reviewed the ACE assessment the community received previously and explained that tonight's suggestions will be compiled by staff and presented to the city council for prioritization. Pamela said the Delta Thrives program, funded by the Delta Regional Authority and administered through the West Alabama Regional Commission, will support leadership development, capacity building and grant-writing assistance for projects the community selects.
Why it matters: the priorities Aliceville chooses will guide which projects the city pursues for limited state and federal grants. Pamela urged residents to think of projects that are feasible and fundable, and reminded them of an Aug. 15 countywide town hall where the Pickens County hospital situation will be discussed with regional and legislative representatives.
Community priorities collected at the meeting included:
- Workforce development and training: Residents and Pamela discussed partnerships with local industries, career-technical programs and expanded library computer and job-readiness classes to help youth and returning citizens enter local employment. Pamela noted interest in coordinating with the Career Tech Center and local employers to align training with available jobs.
- Transportation: Several attendees raised the lack of reliable transport to Tuscaloosa for medical care and employment. Pamela described examples where small entrepreneurs operate medical-transport services that can be reimbursed through Medicaid or Medicare if properly organized, and noted West Alabama Regional Commission programs that provide microloans and business training for local startups.
- Brownfield cleanup and industrial reuse: Donnie, identified in the meeting as the IDB chair, urged the council to pursue cleanup of the deteriorated cotton-mill site. Pamela confirmed Aliceville has access to Brownfields resources and that the regional commission is working countywide to identify Phase I environmental assessments that can unlock cleanup funding.
- Food access and farmers market support: Attendees noted a single grocery store limits choices and affordability; discussion included supporting the newly opened Fresh grocery and strengthening farmers-market participation to use senior-voucher programs.
- Public-safety infrastructure: Participants asked about a new fire station. Pamela said earlier architect estimates placed a building cost at about $1' million two years ago, and that final funding would depend on grant availability and procurement rules; she said she would consider the project for future grant writing once the council ranks priorities.
- Nonprofit capacity and grant readiness: Pamela emphasized that ACE projects often require a nonprofit or other entity to administer grants. She urged stronger coordination between the city, nonprofits, churches and the chamber of commerce, and stressed that many funders now expect basic policies such as cybersecurity and supply-chain plans.
Direct quotes captured at the meeting included Donnie's appeal about the mill: "If we could get some funding to help clean that side up that would be a great thing," and Pamela's reminder about local ownership of the process: "This is your community ... we want to hear what you think is important."
No formal motions or votes were taken. Staffer Ryan will compile tonight's suggestions into a living priorities list for council review; the council will later publish its prioritized projects and the regional team will begin grant-writing based on that list. The Aug. 15 Pickens County meeting was flagged as the forum for a separate update on the county medical center.
Next steps: Ryan will add tonight's suggestions to the ACE priorities list for Aliceville and share the compiled list with the community after the council meets to prioritize projects. Residents were urged to attend the Aug. 15 countywide meeting for further hospital updates.
