Carol Mitchell: Greene Publishing, Inc.
Excitement was in the air and on the faces of the Town of Greenville’s mayor, town council and community leaders who came to the water and sewage treatment facility groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 12 p.m.
Mayor Calvin Malone began the ceremony with a welcome to attendees before leading the prayer and the pledge of allegiance. Jim McCroskey, Greenville’s Town Manager, introduced the VIPs in attendance, which
included: Brian Kauffman, Madison County Coordinator and Bruce Neu, Design Engineer from Mott MacDonald.
Jim Parsons, grant consultant, applauded everyone involved in the efforts to make the project a reality. “This is the single largest, and one of the most important, projects ever in Greenville,” shared Parrish. He went on to thank the team’s efforts that located grants and funding options. “The Telcon group agreed to hold their bid from April, 2016 to Dec. 31, 2016 to allow this project to be accomplished,” explained Parrish while the crowd applauded. “The Town of Greenville had run out of help and hope.”
Parsons worked diligently for the Town of Greenville and assisted in securing a $1.5 million dollar grant to rebuild the water and sewage treatment facility.
Sabrina Wright, Project Manager for the Telcom Group, provided a construction schedule and summary of upcoming activities. “The Telcom Team and I are extremely happy that everything worked out with funding and we are excited to get started,” said Wright.
“Whoo-Hoo!” exclaimed Bruce Neu, Design Engineer from Mott MacDonald. “Our company has worked with the Town of Greenville for a long time, and we are proud of all the work toward this project’s success.”
The Florida Environmental Protection Agency (DEP) provided 90 percent of the money to fund the project. Thomas Montgomery, DEP Clean Water Program, presented Mayor Malone with a letter from DEP Deputy Secretary for Eco-Systems Restoration Drew Parlett. The letter begins with the following:
“On behalf of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, I am pleased to inform you that we have awarded the Town of Greenville a $1,550,822 Clean Water Slate Revolving Fund Loan for the construction of a new waste water treatment facility. A significant portion of this loan, $1,422,740, has a principal forgiveness and does not need to be paid back by the community.”
At the ground breaking ceremony conclusion, Greenville’s council members invited the attendees to a festive lunch at the Town Hall.
Stay tuned for additional updates on the building progress of the water treatment facility including the ribbon cutting service when construction is complete.
According to the bid, the Telcom Group will have 270 days in which to complete the project.