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Florala makes ‘wish list’
City identifies roads in need of repair
Published Wednesday, December 24, 2008
One of the benefits of President-elect Barack Obama’s proposed economic stimulus package are funds for infrastructure projects throughout the nation, such as street paving, and Florala officials have their project list ready if and when the opportunity comes.
Obama’s proposed economic plan looks to inject $75 billion of stimulus into the economy by getting money, in the form of tax cuts and direct spending, directly to the people who need it most. Also included is an additional $45 billion of stimulus that can be injected into the economy quickly in the future if the economy continues to deteriorate.
Additionally, $10 billion is included for state and local governments to prevent cuts in services such as health, education and infrastructure. The stimulus would provide provide immediate, temporary funding to state and local governments so that the decline in property values does not cause them to slash critical public services and cut vital infrastructure spending.
“The rumor is that one of the issues in Obama’s stimulus package would be money for paving of city streets, and state officials have asked that we submit a list of our top three projects,” said Mayor Robert Williamson.
At a previous city council meeting, Williamson had asked each councilperson to determine what the worst road in their district was to include on the list; however, even if Obama’s plan doesn’t come to fruition, Williamson said the city would pursue any means necessary to get the road projects finished.
“That was our game plan originally before learning of a possible stimulus package from Obama,” he said. “During the campaign, the biggest concern of our constituents was the condition of our roadways. Our goal then was to pinpoint the worst — even though there are many areas of concern — and work our way through them. We’ll get the five worst and work get those taken care of in the four years of our administration.
“Now we felt like we needed to have those projects on the table, ready to go,” he said.
Areas of concern were the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Juniper Street; Creech Road; Lakeshore Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Street.
“No matter what the outcome of the stimulus package, we’re going to get some roads paved regardless,” Williamson said. “It may not be in its entirety. It may be just a section, but it’s what our citizens want. Residents need to see something some type of progress. Roads are visible and tangible projects people can see being accomplished. Plus it’s what they asked for.”
Comments
Posted by rabbit2300 (anonymous) on December 25, 2008 at 2:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
lake shore really isnt that bad but the area around 2nd ave is and stateline road. the road tot the high school
Posted by lookeyhere (anonymous) on December 25, 2008 at 5:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Its about time Florala paves some streets. Driving through Florala is like driving on dirt roads.
Posted by sickntired (anonymous) on December 25, 2008 at 7:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
why don't they focus on moving utilities out from under the roadways? once they stop digging holes in the road, they can focus on refinishing the roadways without digging holes in them after they've been redone
Posted by Ineedtobeheard (anonymous) on December 25, 2008 at 8:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree sickntired....seems like every time they paved or resurface a road, two or three days after the project is completed, the city is out digging it up because of a water leak...seems like a waste of money and time to me. I think they should focus first on restructuring the water lines so that the streets wouldn't flood or become cracked and holy. There are alot of streets that need paving in and around Florala, but I believe the one to the school is in great need as well as they one straight through Florala and the surroundings streets and avenues....it's such a shame.
Posted by pingbalata (anonymous) on December 25, 2008 at 5:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This money will end up in the pocket of some person of power or the pocket of their buddy and the citizens of Florala will see a halfassed job of paving in return for their hard earned tax dollars.
Posted by justthinking (anonymous) on December 26, 2008 at 12:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
sickandtired and Ineedtobeheard, Florala has plenty of what we call" sidewalk superintendents". I have compile a vast history of the Florala water system from the turn of the century to the present. I have a library of maps from the mid 1920's to the present and documents on wells from 1903 to yesterday. I have talked to Federal, State and local officals about relocating water mains in the downtown area and I ask you the same question they ask me, "where are you going to put them, in the air?" This question has been run in the dirt for the last 20 years. Florala's water system is no differant than any other system in the United States. Old systems break just like brand new water systems break. Did you see the water main that broke in Maryland last week that created a river on a main street and caused a major rescue event. It would cost tens of million dollars to relocate the water mains in Florala and affect the the fire protection on main street. The only way this could be done is pass the cost on to the consumer. Could the residents of Florala accept a a $100.00 to $300.00 a month increase in their water bill. I done the math. I know the the numbers. This is what I have done for the last 20 years. Did you know that Florala has the 4th lowest natural gas rate in the state of Alabama? Did you know Florala has upgraded thier wastewater sytem to the tune of over a half million dollars in the the last year? In closing, this issue has been addressed every day for many years by a group of agencies and as of today,there no solution.
Posted by Preacher (anonymous) on December 26, 2008 at 3:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Kudos to justthinking. Someone actually gave factual, honest, intelligent information in order to clear up some misconceptions. God Bless You.
Posted by lookeyhere (anonymous) on December 26, 2008 at 3:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
justthinking, so how would you go about fixing the problem?
Posted by justthinking (anonymous) on December 27, 2008 at 4:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
lookeyhere, there is no simple solution in fixing this problem. A partial fix would a bypass around Florala to get the heavy trucks and the traffic count of 8,000 to 9,000 vehicles a day down to lower number. This is not a popular suggesting to the local bussinesses. The next problem is that two major highways running north and south out of Walton and Okalossa counties intersect in Florala. I have seen the 3 purposed bypasses and none of them look realistic or even possible. If this could happen, I would then address moving water lines block by block to keep the cost down. I know the service lines have been replaced in the main street area. The leaks that they are from the joints in the water mains and most have been repaired, but there are a few left. Paving today is only good for about 10 years, but not with the traffic Florala has during spring break, hurricane evacuations, and many other holidays. The state inspected this area to be possibly paved in the near future and only found two areas of concern and they are being addressed. I say pave it and deal with the leaks as they arise. 15 to 20 years ago, leaks were more numories in this area then they are today.
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