Grant Funding is Sometimes Met with Roadblocks

While many towns depend on grants to pursue large projects, the process is often time-consuming and marked by challenges. This has certainly been the case with our planned improvements at Moon Lake Campus. The Town of Mentone has been working for more than a year to secure grant funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission to renovate the main building on campus. After receiving the go-ahead to advertise for bids, the challenges hit closer to home.

In February, we posted an ad inviting contractors to bid on the project. This included work beneath the floors and above the ceilings, upgrades to the electrical and plumbing systems, accessibility features, and other improvements. When the submission deadline arrived, the Town Council had zero bids to consider. Only one contractor expressed interest in the work and decided not to submit a bid.

While it’s not back to the drawing board, it is a disappointing setback. We are advertising the project again, and the architect is attempting to get it in front of more potential contractors. Hopefully, I will have good news to share with you about the project sometime this summer.

On a more positive note, we received a letter last month from Director Kenneth Boswell of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. As I’ve mentioned in this column before, we have been seeking grant funding to build a new trail and trailhead at Brow Park. An observation deck, new benches, and picnic tables would also be a part of this project. ADECA is recommending this project to the Federal Highway Administration for funding. If approved, this will provide our residents and visitors alike with another great way to enjoy the natural beauty of Mentone and Lookout Mountain.

We continue to reinvest funds raised from the Mentone Fall Festival back into Moon Lake Campus. We are currently upgrading the back rooms of the gym. This includes installing mini-split systems for climate control. The work will create additional space to use for classes and other activities.

The City of Henagar, which provides garbage pickup services to our town, is supporting us with a spring cleaning week. They will place a dumpster in front of Town Hall from May 1st through May 8th. No brush, barbed wire, batteries, tires, paint, or household chemicals will be accepted. Henagar will empty the dumpster each day. We encourage everyone to take advantage of this free service for our residents, do some spring cleaning, and help keep Mentone the beautiful town that it is.