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By Lisa Tindell

The Brewton Standard

Some residents in the Pea Ridge and Alco neighborhoods of Brewton may soon see some improvements in water pressure and ease of service.

Brewton City Council members heard from Ray Madden on the progress of a new water well project, thanks to grants awarded to the city for the work.

“We have work almost completed on the new water well project in Pea Ridge,” Madden told the council. “We have been trying to get this done for years and we’ve finally been able to pull it off. This just may be the best well we’ve got.”

The project has consisted of digging to a depth of 980 feet to reach the water table that will provide the water to the well and surrounding residents, Madden said.

“We will be able to see 800 to 1,000 gallons of water a minute with this well,” Madden said. “We have a 200,000 gallon tank in place to serve the area and we will be tying into the Alco tank. We expect that will increase the water pressure in that area for residents and will enhance the fire hydrant pressure as well. We will have 12-inch lines coming off the new well and we will be abandoning the old 6-inch lines when we tie in to the Alco tank. We are happy to see this project come to this point.”

Madden told the council the drilling for the project was estimated at $1.6 million with the costs covered by grants that Mayor Yank Lovelace said came as a result of planned work on the Provalus project in the city.

Also during Monday’s meeting of the council, city employees Craig Jerkins and Russell Holland updated the members on the current and upcoming paving projects around the city.

“With the current project, we are hoping to be finished by the end of the week as long as the weather permits,” Holland told the council. “If we don’t finish this week, we would certainly expect to finish by next week.”

The current project has found workers putting down fresh blacktop along streets of Blacksher, Forrest Hill, St. Joseph, Ashley, Nursery and a few other streets as well as the parking lot on Lee Street between Drexel and Honeybees Restaurant and Camp 31. Holland also said work was being done this week on Lynbrook, Oakland, and at parking lots at the Fisher Center, City Hall and near Jennings Park.

In looking ahead to other paving projects around the city, Holland said there is a plan to apply for A-Trip funding fo rthe next award period.

“We are looking a the rankings of the streets from our council and based on need,” Holland said. “Our next project will likely be Belleville Avenue. This is the largest street in town and will take a lot of asphalt and will be a big project. We hope to tie in work along MLK Avenue in that Belleville Avenue project to cover the remaining portion that has not been paved.”

In other business, the council:

Appointed Anonio Schmidt as the replacement for retiring Robert Hardy for the Brewton Housing Authority. Hardy has most recently served as chairman for the auhority.

Appointed a committee to oversee the application and hiring process for a new police chief for the city. Mayor Yank Lovelace said that the current chief, Monte McGougin, is nearing a time for retirement and has indicated he plans to do just that in the near future. Lovelace said the position would be advertised for 45 days, as per customary procedures. Lovelace said the city attorney, two members of the city at large and two council members would be named to the committee. Committee members will include Ed Hines, city attorney; residents Roger Chapman and Ola Ball; and council members Carrie Brown and Joe Watson.

Approved the annual budget of $50,928,829.58 by a unanimous resolution of the council.