Tag Archives: Crossroads of America Industrial Park at Boligee

City of Eutaw receives $5.6 million for water and sewer improvements, first installment of a multiyear commitment to update Eutaw-Boligee joint system

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Shown L to R: Greene Commission Chairman Corey Cockrell, Mayor of Boligee Hattie Samuels, Mayor of Eutaw Latasha Johnson, Councilwoman Valerie Watkins, Corey Martin, City of Eutaw Water Operator, and Pro Tem James Morrow

On Friday, December 2, 2022, the City of Eutaw held a press conference to announce receipt of grant of $5.6 million, $2.6 for drinking water and $3 million for sewage, from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) State Revolving Loan Fund.

This will allow the City of Eutaw to proceed with water and wastewater system improvements for the unified Eutaw and Boligee water and wastewater systems.

This funding, which is a grant with no matching fund requirements, was made possible with funding from the Biden Administration initiatives,
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Congresswoman Terri Sewell was instrumental in urging the state to use these Federal funds to benefit projects in the rural Black Belt counties within her Congressional District. Sewell was the only member of the Alabama delegation that voted in favor of this legislation in the past year.

The $5.6 million is the first installment of additional funding to be provided over the next three to five years for improvement of the joint Eutaw and Boligee water and sewage systems. This system also provides services to the Crossroads of America Industrial Park at Boligee.

Mayor Latasha Johnson expressed thanks to the many persons and agencies that made the project possible including Congresswoman Terri Sewell, John Laney and Jim Graciano of ADEM and project engineer, Angela Henline of Cassidy Company in Tuscaloosa, who will be designing the project.

Corey Martin, City of Eutaw Water Operator, said, “The first part of the project will be to renovate and replace six lift stations which move sewage back to the lagoon in Eutaw. The second priority involves bringing the Boligee water tower back on line to relieve water quality and pressure issues. We do not know all the problems with the system and how they will be addressed until our engineer makes her official assessment and design plans for repairs.”

Mayor Hattie Samuels of Boligee, commented, “The Town of Boligee
Local funds were being drained to make constant repairs in the water and sewage systems. This is truly a blessing – to receive these grant funds to give our residents a better quality of life.”

Mayor Samuels read from a statement sent by Congresswoman Terri Sewell, which said,” This is GREAT news! For too long, Alabama’s rural communities have suffered from failing wastewater systems that have put the health and well-being of our residents at risk.

“Access to clean water and adequate wastewater infrastructure is a basic human right, and thus funding for the City of Eutaw will be instrumental as we work to end this crisis.

“I am proud to have voted I favor of both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the American Rescue Plan, which made these grants possible. I will continue to fight for more of these critical investments across Alabama’s 7th Congressional District.”

Governor Kay Ivey sent a message, which was read Greene County Commission Chair, Corey Cockrell, stating “In Alabama, we believe in helping our neighbors, and that exactly what the city of Eutaw and the city of Boligee are doing here. I’m proud to see both cities come together and strike a mutually beneficial compromise that will go a long way to improving the quality of life for the residents of each community.”

Senator Doug Jones urges Governor Ivey to establish an Alabama Health Care Manufacturing Task Force

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As of May 26, 2020 at 7:15 PM
Alabama had 15,650 confirmed cases of coronavirus
with 580 deaths
Greene County had 91 confirmed cases with 4 deaths

BIRMINGHAM – Senator Doug Jones (D-Ala.) on Saturday, May 23, urged Governor Kay Ivey to establish a health care manufacturing task force to explore ways for Alabama to move to the forefront of health care manufacturing for the United States.
Senator Jones’ proposal would utilize existing infrastructure to create jobs in Alabama, provide a supply chain for vital COVID-19 supplies, reduce dependence on foreign health care suppliers, revamp Alabama’s manufacturing economy.
In his letter to Governor Ivey, Senator Jones suggested utilizing existing infrastructure across the state, like shuttered factories, to build a statewide health care manufacturing sector as a way to produce critical health care items to respond to and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, reduce our dependence on foreign health care suppliers, and revamp Alabama’s manufacturing economy as we face an uncertain period of economic hardship.
In light of the state of Alabama facing an estimated budget shortfall of more than $1 billion, this effort could also help generate new streams of revenue to support Alabama’s state and local governments.
“Just as the automotive industry has changed Alabama’s economy since Mercedes arrived in the 1990’s, a concerted effort to expand health care manufacturing in Alabama will help grow our population, raise our standard of living, and improve the quality of life for generations to come,” wrote Senator Jones, a member of the Senate Health Committee.
“For instance, it has been reported that Goodyear is unlikely to reopen its facility in Gadsden. While I had hoped that Goodyear could have found a way to keep the plant operating, its likely closing is reflective of the ongoing transition in our state’s economy and adds urgency to the need to look for new opportunities to put local residents and others throughout the state back to work.”
Many industrial parks across Alabama have available buildings that could be used to develop businesses to produce medical supplies and equipment. In the Crossroads of America Industrial Park at Boligee, Alabama, which serves Greene County, there is a 50,000 square foot building that could be used for manufacturing health care supplies.
The Greene County Industrial Development Authority built this structure a decade ago to attract industrial/manufacturing projects to Greene County.
“The shortage of PPE, ventilators, and other vital healthcare related items that we have seen in the course of dealing with this pandemic has demonstrated that our supply chains in the health care space are too dependent on foreign suppliers and not as diversified as they need to be,” he continued. “While a number of businesses in Alabama and across the country are stepping up and repurposing facilities during this pandemic to make these critical items, it is likely that they will return to their original purpose once the crisis has subsided. It is my view, however, that the United States needs to make a concerted effort to reduce our dependence on foreign suppliers of items essential to the delivery of healthcare, just as we did with foreign suppliers of oil a number of years ago.”