High costs slash College St. plans

Hillview and Alley 5 are on tap for repaving

With the price of asphalt, fuel, materials and other items increasing, the Flomaton Town Council voted to cut the repaving of College Street out of its paving projects was to be done through the $250,000 grant received from the state of Alabama using funds from the Rebuild Alabama Act.

The town was recently awarded the grant, which requires a $35,000 match from the town. The original plan was to resurface College Street, Hillview Drive and Alley 5 with the grant funds and the match.

Utilities Superintendent Shaun Moye said the increased cost of asphalt and materials showed that all three roads could not be done with the money allocated.

Mayor Dewey Bondurant, Jr., said Alley 5 and Hillview Drive were in the worst shape and needed to be at the top of the list.

“Alley 5 is terrible,” Mayor Bondurant said.

Councilman Jim Johnson said once Hillview Drive is resurfaced the town needs to put up ‘No Thru Trucks’ signs on both sides of the road.

The council agreed to proceed with the repaving of Hillview Drive and Alley 5 using the grant funds and the town’s match.

Moye said the work on those roads should start in April or May.

Park Cameras

The council also approved spending an additional $18,964 to install cameras at Hurricane Park and Oaks Common Park after the bids came in higher than anticipated.

Moye said the town had budgeted $25,000 for the cameras but the bids came in around $43,000.

Moye said the camera system will include WiFi so that any action at the parks can be monitored by dispatchers at town hall. He said the initial investment in the cameras is the biggest cost. He also added that Poarch and the city of Brewton uses the same camera system that live-feeds to the dispatchers.

Councilman Jim Johnson asked what the monthly cost would be once the cameras were installed.

Moye said it depends on the service the town uses, but said it appears Spectrum will be the least at about $150 per month, per location.

“If we do this, which I think we should, we’ll have to adjust our budget,” Mayor Bondurant said.

Johnson also asked where the money would come from and told the council the town had enough money in the budget to make the adjustment.

Street signs

Mayor Bondurant also said there were several street signs either missing or damaged around town and needed to the addressed.

Town Clerk Carrie Moore said work orders need to be turned in on which locations need new signs. The council has stated if residents have issues they need to contact town hall to have a work order filed.