Grant will provide upgrades

Barton - Money to assist in preparation for the construction of a mile-long railcar manufacturing plant in Colbert County has started flowing to the Shoals from Montgomery.

Gov. Bob Riley has announced that a $1.41 million grant has been awarded to improve sanitary sewer services and upgrade an existing wastewater plant at Barton Riverfront Industrial Park.

The park, which is just west of Tuscumbia, is being turned into the site of National Alabama Corp.'s new railcar plant. When completed, the plant, where railcars will be manufactured, will stretch a mile long and about 400 feet wide. It will be built on a 64-acre park site near the SCA Tissue operation.

National Alabama announced its plan to come to the Shoals in July. As part of the incentive package that helped lure the Canadian-based company, state and local entities pledged $110 million to improve infrastructure at the park and help train workers. Local government entities have committed between $14 million and $28 million to the project, depending on the success or failure of the area's effort to qualify for federal government assistance.

The company plans to employ 1,800 workers when full production is reached. National Alabama's total investment is projected at $350 million.

"This grant will help pay for improvements that are needed to attract new industry and new jobs to the area," Riley said. "It took an aggressive regional strategy to successfully bring National Alabama to the Shoals, and we will continue working as partners at the state and local levels as this project moves forward."

The $1.41 million Riley talked about in the announcement is money sent to the state from the Community Development Block Grant program.

Colbert County Commission Chairman Troy Woodis said the grant was expected, but the timing of the announcement is particularly important.

"This is very much welcomed and needed at this time," Woodis said. "We've been waiting for this announcement so we can move forward with making some improvements that we are committed to making. We need to get moving to meet the strict time line we have been given."

National Alabama is swiftly moving to prepare the land for construction of the massive building. The actual frame of the plant could begin construction in December.

Colbert County is responsible for providing a 20 percent financial match for the grant money, which amounts to $417,010.

Woodis said commissioners plan to seek financial assistance from the Shoals Industrial Development Committee. The committee was established to oversee proceeds collected from a half-cent sales tax in the Shoals. All money from the tax must be used for economic development purchases, including incentive packages and infrastructure improvements.

"The commission will likely make the request to (the Shoals Economic Development Authority)," Woodis said. "SEDA's committee will see if it's a viable request and hopefully they will submit it to the development committee for their review. Certainly, we think it's a good use of that money.

"If it doesn't work out, it would put us in a bind. We'd just have to find another way to do it because we're committed to getting it done."

County Engineer John Bedford said the $1.41 million will be used to increase the park's capacity to treat sewage.

"The present plant will not handle the projected demands of National Alabama," Bedford said. "We have a treatment plant in place to handle SCA Tissue, but it would cost us more than double to expand that plant than it would to bring a new one online."

He said plans are to use parts of the existing plant in the construction of a new facility that will be capable of handling 100,000 gallons a day.

Bedford said SCA Tissue now needs treatment capacity of 10,000 gallons a day, and National Alabama has needs of 60,000 gallons a day.

"We'll be able to handle more than we are expecting, but not by much more," he said. "This will give us a little buffer for the future and give us the ability to handle the expansion numbers that are already being mentioned by SCA and (National Alabama)."

Bradford estimates it will take four or five months to complete the work on the new sewage treatment system.

He said he expects additional state money to become available soon to handle other improvements to the infrastructure at the Barton park.