The Andalusia City Council Tuesday authorized the mayor to finalize a lease-purchase agreement with Wright Brothers LLC for property in the Alatex industrial park.
The city and its industrial development board has had an agreement with the company since it purchased the property from John G. Ralls Jr. in 2009.
The original letter agreement was for Wright to pay a purchase price of $500,000, owner-financed, for 25 years at 5 percent interest.
However, a stumbling block in acquiring eight acres of land in the tract from Cluett American Corp. delaying finalizing the lease-purchase agreement, as a portion of those eight acres was to be sold to Wright Bros. in the lease-purchase agreement.
City clerk John Thompson explained that Cluett has had several successors, and the property is now owned by a Canadian company with whom the city remains in negotiations for the property.
Wright Bros. requested that the purchase agreement be finalized, a necessary step in a project the company is about to take on.
The council agreed to reduce the purchase price by $40,000 until the last bit of property is acquired, at which time Wright Bros. will have an option to buy a portion of it.
“We bought that property with the idea of it being turned into an industrial park,” Mayor Earl Johnson said. “The money we spent on the Alatex property is being repaid to us in the form of sales or leases.”
“This keeps that industry in Andalusia, and brings new jobs to Andalusia,” Johnson said. “That’s good for the economy.”
Wright Brothers, owned by Mel and Nate Wright, manufactures storage buildings. The company also converts ISO Corten steel shipping containers to small cabins.
In other business, the council:
The corporate office on the property is currently being renovated as a new officer for the Andalusia Area Chamber of Commerce, which is investing in the improvements.
• Accepted a bid from Logical Computer Solutions for $27,000 to provide three new servers for the city.
One server will be at city hall, the other at the police department, and each will back up the other. A third server at a remote location will back up both in the event there is a catastrophic event in Andalusia that destroys both servers.
The City of Andalusia will begin a major paving project that includes eight streets on Mon., June 25.
The council agreed earlier in the year to begin this project when the weather was conducive. Public Works Director Jim Hogg will supervise the project, with Wiregrass Construction providing the work and machinery.
Barring any unforeseen problems, the project will be completed in this order:
• Resurface Moore Road from South Three Notch to the truck route.
• Mill 4th Avenue from East Three Notch Street to Henderson Street.
• Resurface Holloway Drive from Dunson Street to Church Street.
• Resurface 4th Avenue from East Three Notch to Henderson Street.
• Resurface Lindsey Bridge Road to Easley Drive.
• Resurface Academy Drive from the railroad track crossing to Midway Drive.
• Resurface Lakeview Drive from Sanford Road to Camellia Avenue.
• Resurface Aspen Lane from Willow Lane to Grand Oak Drive.
When the project was first approved, it also included plans to resurface Feagin Street. However, the city is a contender for a CDBG grant to do extensive work on that street, including upgrading utility lines. If it were paved now, it would have to torn up to do the additional repairs, clerk John Thompson said.
It’s fun all the way around at the Will Coleman Recreation Center Summer Enrichment Program this summer. Campers, ages 5 to 14, have the opportunity to study, receive a nutritious lunch and participate in enrichment activities and recreation.
Motorists will have to exercise caution – and a bit of patience – while navigating portions of the Andalusia By-Pass.
For many days, crews with Mobile Asphalt Co. have been working to prep the 2.3-mile section of state Hwy. 55 from U.S. Hwy. 29 to south of U.S. Hwy. 84. Construction cones and uneven sections of pavement mean motorists should be mindful of construction workers and work as they travel in the area.
Rebecca White, state department of transportation spokesperson, said the project cost is $1.17 million.
“Work began in late May, and the estimated completion date is mid-July,” she said of the project.
The county was set to begin the process of a second ALDOT construction project – the planing, resurfacing and traffic striping of U.S. Hwy. 84 from the Conecuh County line to west of state Hwy. 55 in River Falls. Bids for the 7.752-mile project, with an estimated cost between $960,000 to $1.18 million, were set to be let on June 29; however, the project has been removed from the state bid list.
It is unclear why the project was removed from the bid list.
The Solon and Martha Dixon Foundation and Auburn University broke ground on a $1.6 million state-of-the-art facility Wednesday to expand its resources to the wildlife, forestry and natural resources community.
The new facility will feature a 100-seat auditorium and 40-seat classroom, with ancillary facilities, to enhance the learning experience for Auburn University students, and will aptly be named the Solon and Martha Dixon Foundation Learning Center.
Doris Tyler of the Dixon Foundation said the new center was a continuation of the efforts made by “Mr. Solon.”
The current facility was dedicated in 1980, and has managed its natural resources and programs to meat the needs of AU students, the Long Leaf Alliance, and others in the scientific community.
“We are excited about the addition of the new high-tech classroom,” Tyler said. “The hands-on experience will be a venue to generate revenue from other schools. This center is still a learning center and a legacy to the Dixons.”
Dean of the Forestry and Wildlife department Dr. Jim Shepherd said that forestry and wildlife is very important to Alabama, and forests cover some 68 percent of the state.
Shepherd said the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center has served as the institution for a 10-week summer program for forestry students for the last 33 years, and they have implemented a six-week summer practicum for wildlife majors.
“It’s tough because right now we only have one classroom,” he said. “The extra capacity will be helpful.”
Additionally, Shepherd said the facility is used throughout the year for natural resource-based conferences and the Long Leaf Alliance uses the facilities as well.
“Sometimes organizations want to use our facilities, but they want to have multiple rooms to break out into smaller sessions. Right now, we really don’t meet those needs, but with the addition, we’ll be able to do that,” Shepherd said. “We really want to be a community resource.”
This summer, there are researchers from Penn State conducting lizard research and a team of botanists from Auburn looking at different species of plant life, Shepherd said.
“They were expecting to find around 500 different species,” Shepherd said. “But they have found 1,000 species in this one 5,000 acre property. This is really a great learning tool for our students.”
The project is expected to be completed in March 2013, and will be ready for next summer’s practicums, which start in May.
Jessica Nelson, AU spokesperson said that the new facility will help with outreach and stretch teaching capacities immensely.