Lockhart town officials are eyeing ways to better improve their community – specifically upgrades to its sewer system and roadways, Mayor Eugene Birge said Wednesday.

Birge said the town has recently applied for a $400,000 Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program grant to expand the town’s sewer system by 35 customers.

A public hearing was held Monday to allow residents to voice their opinion on the proposed sewer expansion.

“If funded, this project will allow us to include the Hidden Acres trailer park on our system and redo a bad section of sewer lines on the back side of town,” Birge said. “For us, the project would mean extra revenue all the way around.”

Birge said the 35 new customers and cost-savings on the system’s maintenance would generate approximately $12,000 annually in additional revenue.

“In that we’re saving money on the operation of the sewer treatment plant because right now, we’re taking on a lot of rainwater,” he said. “The more water we treat, the more money it costs us to process it.”

The town will be notified in October if the grant is funded.

It will also be the first large monetary grant the city has been awarded in more than eight years, he said.

In addition, the town is also pursuing a separate CDBG grant that would pave the streets on the south side of town, Birge said.

“We’re actively pursuing any and all things that will make Lockhart a better place to live,” he said. “Even though, we already think it’s pretty great.”