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Commission hears ARC strategic-plan progress, Innovate Alabama match and a $1M congressional appropriation for Riverside bridge
Summary
County staff updated commissioners on a $75,000 ARC strategic-plan award (with a $45,000 Innovate Alabama match), pending BUILD and other grant applications, and a $1,020,000 congressional direct appropriation toward a Riverside bridge; commissioners discussed memoranda of understanding and local cost shares.
Candace Hill, who presented work on the county’s economic-development strategic plan funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), told commissioners April 23 that the first stage is a plan to identify large infrastructure projects and to prepare grant-ready designs and applications. She said the ARC award covers the strategic-plan work: $75,000 in cash plus $24,000 in in-kind contributions, and that Innovate Alabama will provide a $45,000 match that reduces the county’s cash requirement.
“We have a 500 person leadership Saint Clair County list,” Hill said; staff plan one-on-one stakeholder interviews and broader surveys to collect public feedback that will shape the plan and subsequent grant applications.
Hill and others also summarized other grant prospects: a $2.5 million BUILD application (proposed county local match $250,000 and $250,000 from Moody) to support US-411 design and construction, and a congressional direct appropriation of about $1,020,000 to support a bridge in Riverside. Commissioners noted the county will not control the federal appropriation once administered by Riverside but said a memorandum of understanding will be needed to coordinate project elements that affect county roads and to clarify local cost responsibilities for elements the appropriation does not cover.
Why it matters: the ARC-driven strategic plan is intended to identify projects that can be packaged for federal, state and private funding and to professionalize grant strategy. Commissioners welcomed the Innovate Alabama match as reducing local cash needs and stressed strict federal procurement compliance where federal dollars are used.
What’s next: staff will continue stakeholder interviews for the ARC plan, finalize Innovate Alabama match details, track BUILD and other grant decisions, and prepare a memorandum of understanding with Riverside to govern implementation and oversight of bridge work that touches county infrastructure.
