BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
Top Photo: This building has served many purposes over the years. Currently it is used for training for the Special Response Team, and storage. It will be coming down and in its place will be a new WELCOME Food Pantry to serve the needs of a growing community.
MILLBROOK – In February, the City of Millbrook announced a $500,000 grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) was approved that will allow for a new WELCOME Food Pantry. WELCOME is an acronym for West Elmore Outreach Ministry Extension.
At the Tuesday Council meeting, the council approved a resolution authorizing Millbrook Mayor Al Kelley to execute a professional design services contract for the new WELCOME center, to get the ball going.
Or, in this case, the wrecking ball, which will begin to take down the old Millbrook Police Department building on Grandview Road. Once that is complete, construction on the new WELCOME Food pantry will begin, but it is too early for a definite timeline.
There is a lot of history in the old building, which has offered up as much service to the community as the walls and roof are able, officials say. It was the home many years ago to Millbrook Baptist Church until they built the church now on Browns Road. The building has also served as a medical clinic. It was purchased by the city, and became the home of City Hall, the Municipal Court and the Millbrook Police Department for many years.
City Hall would move two more times, but the old building continued to house the Court and Police until 2013.
At that time, the police building was vacated, as a new, larger facility to house the police and court departments was built across the road.
In the years since it was vacated, the old police department has been used for storage and training. Time has not been kind to the building, which had major structural issues and previous flooding damage even when it was fully operational.
The Council recently approved the location of a large storage building to be placed on city property near the tennis courts that will be used for storage. Soon work will begin to clear out the old building before demolition begins.
There was some talk of moving the WELCOME Center into the old police department building, but it was decided after multiple inspections that the old building had to go for health and safety reasons.
In the future a new, larger WELCOME center will be located on the property, that will be able to better serve the needs of a growing community.
The grant project cost is estimated at over $800,000 and includes a $300,000 match to be provided by the City of Millbrook, WELCOME and other generous contributors. The City donated the property for the project on Grandview Road next to the Millbrook Senior Center. Once the new facility is built WELCOME will relocate from its current location on Main Street.
“I am very appreciative of the support of Governor Ivey, ADECA’s Kenneth Boswell and staff and our local legislative delegation as we navigated the application process. This is a tremendous boost to WELCOME’s ability to not only better respond to our area’s needy, but an opportunity to enhance and elevate their mission and great work. We are looking forward to getting started,” Mayor Kelley said in February when the grant was announced.
WELCOME’s President, Phil Harris, said, “We are extremely pleased that the grant was awarded and that WELCOME will be able to continue to serve those in need in west Elmore County for many years to come. Over the years, Elmore County’s population has grown substantially, so it’s no surprise that the number of people in need has risen as well, particularly during the pandemic. We have been blessed to have been able to operate in our current facility for almost three decades, but it is no longer adequate for our needs. We deeply appreciate the way that Millbrook stepped in to help, not only their citizens, but those throughout west Elmore County.”
The project was funded utilizing CDBG-CV Grant Program Funds, administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, that focus on a community’s pandemic-related needs. The Central Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission (CARPDC) will manage the grant on behalf of the City.
