CULLMAN – The Cullman County Community Development Commission (CCCDC) met recently to distribute grants for the month of November. The amount available for distribution this month was $145,992; however, $100,000 was put into reserve.
Funding for CCCDC grants comes from taxes- Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in lieu of taxes and beer taxes. CCCDC board members are appointed by Alabama state legislators.
The chairman of the CCCDC, Bill Strandlund, noted, “Cullman County is the only county that distributes (these) funds in the form of grants.”
Board members are:
Bill Strandlund- appointed by Sen. Paul Bussman, R-Cullman
Bradley Williams- appointed by Rep. Corey Harbison, R-Good Hope
Joe Golden- appointed by Rep. Randall Shedd, R-Fairview
Josh Speakman- appointed by Rep. Ed Henry, R-Hartselle
Strandlund expressed gratitude on behalf of the CCCDC to Bussman, Harbison, Shedd and Henry “for not creating local legislative offices,” which he says can cost counties as much as 40 percent of their monthly commission budget.
Of the available $45,992 for November, the CCCDC approved four grants:
- $12,000 to the Baileyton Community Center for renovations
- $12,000 to The Link of Cullman County’s Wise-Up Program
- $12,000 to the Dodge City Community Center for repairs and up-keep
- $9,982 was allocated to Hanceville High School for much-needed repairs to the school’s track and field. The funds will be used for phase one repairs, which will allow students of Hanceville and Cullman County to compete against each other. Later expansion of the track and field is planned so that Hanceville may possibly host track meets in the future.
To learn more about the CCCDC or to submit a grant application, visit http://co.cullman.al.us/cccdc/cccdc.html.
The next CCCDC meeting will be held on Dec. 19 at 6 p.m. at Cullman City Hall. The group will hold meetings on the third Monday of each month in the 2017 calendar year.
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