LOXLEY, Alabama — At its meeting Dec. 11, the Loxley Town Council received a notice of completion and voted to approve a more than $100,000 payment for the town’s sewer and drainage rehabilitation project.

Payments totaling $103,334.34 were approved at the Dec. 11 meeting. Representatives from Goodwyn Mills and Cawood addressed council members and presented a letter stating that the project was 100 percent complete and a final inspection of the project had been scheduled.

In November of 2015, the town received federal approval for a $350,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) through the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA). The grant pays 90 percent of the total cost for the $385,000 project.

According to the grant application, filed by the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission on behalf of the town, “Loxley has identified community development needs and determined that there is a critical need to provide sewer and drainage rehabilitation in an older area of the town where high concentrations of low to moderate income persons reside.”

The project estimated a total $171,250 would be spent on sewer rehabilitation, while an estimated $130,000 was slated for drainage improvements.

The grant area includes a western portion of town from St. Alban Street south to West Relham Drive including North Cedar Street, North Walnut Street, North Oak Street, County Road 49 and a small portion of North Pine Street.

This is not the final payment for the project, officials said during the Monday. That should come once the final inspection is completed.

Also on Dec. 11, the members of Loxley’s Bicentennial Committee address the council requesting funds in the amount of $2,500. The allowance would not be paid all at once, but would be available as needed for planned projects.

Committee members discussed plans for the town’s participation in the Alabama Bicentennial, which is slated for 2019, including educational projects involving faculty and students from Loxley Elementary and the incorporation of some of the town’s historic landmarks, such as the Loxley Hotel.

According to a release issued in June by the Alabama Bicentennial Commission, between 2017 and 2019, Alabama 200 will engage residents and visitors in educational programs, community activities and statewide initiatives that teach, inspire and entertain. The regional community workshops will allow for cross-county partnerships, development of timelines, access to available projects, exhibitions, speakers and fundraising opportunities.

During the month of June, workshops were held in Chatom and Robertsdale, designed to assist communities in planning for Alabama’s three-year bicentennial commemoration.

Over the next few years, the Bicentennial Commission is encouraging each community to tie in the event with local events such a festivals and other community activities.

In other business Dec. 11, the council:

• Approved a parade permit application for the annual Martin Luther King March, slated for Jan. 15. The parade is held the third Monday of every January to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday, beginning at the Loxley Church of God, marching up Alabama 59 (Hickory Street) to the Loxley Civic Center.

• Approved the purchase of a mapping system from Navigation Electronics Inc. at a cost of $14,015.

• Approved the purchase of a 55-gallon sprayer from Parkway Equipment at a cost of $900;.

• Announced that the council will not have a work session meeting, normally held the last Monday of every month, because this month’s meeting would fall on Christmas day.