By Gerri Miller
Elmore/Autauga News
In the wake of a major expansion which will more than double the size of a local business, the Millbrook City Council annexed into the city limits 2.7 acres of property owned by Circle K Tuesday night and zoned the property B-3 (highway commercial).
The plans entail a complete redevelopment of the site, said Ann Harper, economic development director for the City of Millbrook. The store will more than double in size to 5,200 square feet and the number of pumps will be doubled to 24.
“They are going to transform this property,” Harper said. “They will create a more inviting environment for customers. It is also a great location right by the interstate.”
City Council Chairman Michael Gay said more pumps and a bigger store means more sales tax for the city.
“It’s a win-win for us,” Gay said. “It’s an awesome location and a win for the city. The teamwork by everyone involved made it a great project for us.”
Gay said that within 4-5 years with projects such as this one and The Fields at Seventeen Springs, Highway 14 all the way down to Oaktree Road will look totally different. Seventeen Springs will be a state-of-the-art athletic Field House with a competition level track, soccer, tennis and pickle ball fields, football stadium and much more as phases are completed. This is a multi-organization project that includes Millbrook, ADECA, the Elmore County Commission, the Montgomery Area YMCA and the Elmore County Board of Education.
In other news, Harper told the Council that the City of Millbrook has been awarded at $160,000 grant to construct a non-motorized, multi-use trail along Mill Creek in downtown. The grant is from the Recreational Trails Program and is funded through the Federal Highway Administration. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) will administer the grant.
Harper said the City will provide a $134,248 match to the grant totaling $294,248 for Phase 1 of the project. Stuart Peters, Project Manager for the City of Millbrook and contract city engineer, said the project will build a 1/4-mile concrete walking trail that will include benches, LED lighting and garbage cans.
The project is going to connect Village Green Park to Grandview Road and will include a pedestrian crosswalk. “We are excited not only that we are beautifying that section of the creek but also giving our citizens and visitors a place to walk,” Peters said.
A $40,000 grant also was approved from ADECA to install energy-efficient lighting upgrades at two of Millbrook’s municipal facilities. The grant will be used to replace the existing fluorescent lighting in the Millbrook Civic Center with energy-efficient LED lights and to retrofit the City’s Sewer Treatment Facility from fluorescent/incandescent combinations to LED fixtures.
The City will provide funds of $14,365 for the project. “I am very proud of our efforts in securing this grant,” said Mayor Al Kelley. “The City is always looking for opportunities to increase efficiency and cut costs so that the savings can be passed on to our citizens in more positive ways.”
Kelley told the Council about an event he attended in Montgomery. Area Mayors, officials and guests filled the atrium of the Alabama National Guard Joint Force Headquarters speaking of the importance of our military, past and present.
The Alabama National Guard hosted the annual Military Appreciation Week Proclamation signing in honor of Veteran’s Day on Thursday, Nov. 11. “The River Region shows its appreciation throughout the week of November 7 – 13, 2021. The official slogan of the week to be FREEDOM is not free…Thank you U.S. Military,” the proclamation said.
“We started doing this 20 years ago,” Kelley said. “The people we honor are those who serve as our volunteers, our coaches and members of our civic clubs,” Kelley said.
