Red Bay to purchase land for new city hall

By Staff
Melissa Dozier-Cason FCT Staff Writer
The City of Red Bay plans to purchase property owned by the Keeton family for the site of their New City Hall and Police Department.
The purchase price for the property is $80,000. A new police station will also be built on the site, located on Fourth Ave. between the Tom Jones Insurance building and Alabama Title Loans. The budget for the entire project is $900,000, Jeff Reid, mayor, said.
The city hopes to start taking bids for the project within the next three weeks. The project's completion is expected to take about a year, Reid said.
"We will be putting together a time table for project in the coming weeks, but we expect it to take around a year." Reid said.
The project will be funded through grant money and insurance proceeds collected after the former city hall was destroyed by fire last May, Reid said.
"We got a grant for $150,00 from ADECA, and we received $729,000 from the insurance company for the old building," Reid said.
The grant, administered by the Energy, Weatherization and Technology Division of Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA, will help the city equip the new city hall and police with energy efficient features such as Energy Star windows and doors that are built to conserve energy. The building will also feature energy-efficient heating and cooling system and light fixtures as well as water-saving products, according to a press release from the Governor's office.
Energy Star is a government-sponsored program that encourages energy efficiency in homes and businesses. Their products are built to be 10 to 50 percent more energy efficient than standard building materials and appliances, according to the release.