FC engineer applies for vegetation grant

At the last Franklin County Commission meeting of 2017, a vote was made that has the potential to save the county’s vegetation management program thousands of dollars, according to county engineer David Palmer.

The commissioners approved a resolution authorizing Palmer to apply for a vegetation management grant through the North Alabama Council of Local Governments.

“I actually wasn’t aware that you could use monies available through TAP grants for vegetation management until a few months back,” Palmer said.

Transportation Alternatives Program grants are usually used for projects like sidewalks and street lighting he said.

If the county is approved for the grant, it will go toward the county’s herbicide application which includes grass, weeds and brush.

“We’ll be able to add in more brush spraying through this grant, if we get it, which is a big deal because we don’t usually get to spend a lot of time on that,” Palmer said.

He explained that it would be a contracted out job which would free up the existing 16 highway department employees to focus on other tasks that are also important.

“It’s not a huge application process, but if we get it it will be worth the effort. We could do the entire county for a portion of what we currently have budgeted for herbicide application,” Palmer said.

The grant value is $90,000, and the county would only have to match $18,000 – a fraction of the $40-50,000 that Palmer said their normal maintenance program costs.

He expects to hear an answer about the application between the end of January and the beginning of February.