SILVERHILL, Alabama — The town of Silverhill will add two streets to a resurfacing project set to begin in the coming months after bids for the project came in under budget. The town is also utilizing additional funds that have been allocated for street paving in 2021.
In January of 2020 , the town received word that it had been awarded a $250,000 Alabama Department of Transportation Rebuild Alabama Grant. The $250,000 grant application included resurfacing projects on First, Second, Third, Fourth, Seventh and Ninth Streets, and South Avenue. It also allowed for the widening of some of the streets.
In November, the council approved a bid from Asphalt Services for the resurfacing project that was $15,000 under budget for the project, said Mayor Jared Lyles, so at its meeting on Monday, March 1, the council voted to add a portion of Second Avenue from County Road 55 to Second Street, to the project at a cost of $14,500.
Lyles said the town also has $50,000 in funds that have been earmarked for road repairs ($25,000 that was earmarked in the 2019-20 budget and $25,000 earmarked in the 2020-21 budget) voting to also add North Avenue from County Road 55 to First Street to the project at a cost of $17,500.
“These are connecting streets to the original project,” Lyles said. “That way there won’t be areas left unpaved between areas designated to be resurfaced with the project.”
The projects are supposed to start within the next 30 to 60 days, Lyles said.
“There may be some weather delays, but they will definitely start in the spring,” he said.
In other business March 1, the council honored 2021 Spelling Bee Champion Colt Jackson with a certificate during the meeting.
Jackson, a student at Silverhill Elementary School, was crowned 2021 Baldwin County Spelling Bee Champion during competition held virtually in February.
Jackson earned the right to compete at the state level, sponsored by the Alabama Kiwanis Foundation, which will be held virtually on March 21.
Winners from state competition advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, scheduled for June 1-3. The competition is held annually at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, near Washington, D.C., but will also be held virtually this year.
The nationally televised event is sponsored by the G.W. Scripps Company, based in Cincinnati. Its website lists winners dating back to 1925. Last year’s competition was canceled because of the Coronavirus.
The council also voted upgrade QuickBooks for the office staff, discussed offering a MedStar Air Care membership for town employees and restructuring positions for the town’s four office staff which would include creating an accounts payable position which would be filled by an existing town clerk position.
