GOOD HOPE, Ala. – The Good Hope City Council Monday night discussed several road improvement ideas, with the opportunity to apply for infrastructure project funding from ATRIP-II (the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program-II), due to the 10-cent fuel tax increase which Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law in March of this year. The council decided to apply for the funds to add lighting at Exit 305, citing increased safety and expected growth at the interchange. The council passed a resolution to apply for the ATRIP-II funding and offered a 10% match.
The ATRIP-II committee has $30 million available for FY2020. It set forth criteria that projects must meet in order to be eligible for funding.
Said the committee in a letter: “Project applications may be submitted for improvements to any state-maintained highway system, which may include local roads and bridges essential to such projects. Projects should be for public use and benefit the traveling public at large.”
Projects cannot exceed $2 million, and the selection process will consider “how the proposed project emphasizes economic growth, public safety and stability of the State.”
Before deciding on Exit 305, the council considered applying for funding to extend Training Center Road to Mize Road North or building an access road extending from the Pilot Travel Center to Mize Road South.
Rep. Corey Harbison, R-Good Hope explained to the council that in the event the project wasn’t awarded initially, “They have several rounds of ATRIP, and you can reapply for each cycle.”
The City’s application must be submitted by the end of August.
Harbison said he felt confident the ATRIP-II committee would meet quickly to make its decisions.
The council also voted to lower building permit fees.
Good Hope’s fees were originally set up to mirror Cullman’s, Good Hope Mayor Jerry Bartlett explained, “Since they (Cullman) have a whole big department and we are kind of limited, we should scale ours back a little bit.”
The fee schedule is now:
Projects $1,000 or less- $20
Projects $1,001 to $49,999- $20 for the first $1,000 + $10 for each additional $1,000
Projects $50,000 to $99,999- $200 for the first $50,000 + $2 for each additional $1,000
Projects $100,000 and up- $400 for the first $200,000 + $2 for each additional $1,000
Copyright 2019 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
