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Long County awarded $1 million Georgia DCA grant
L to r: Commissioners James Craft, John Boy Reddish, Chairman Robert D. Parker, Vice Chairman Gerald Blocker, Carol Soudard of Carol’s Consulting and Grant Management, and Commissioner Jeremy Hall.
L to r: Commissioners James Craft, John Boy Reddish, Chairman Robert D. Parker, Vice Chairman Gerald Blocker, Carol Soudard of Carol’s Consulting and Grant Management, and Commissioner Jeremy Hall.

The Long County Commissioners were recently presented with a whopping $1 million grant from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, and the mock check presentation was made by Carol Southard of Carol’s Consulting and Grant Management, Inc., of Americus, Georgia, at the County Commissioners’ meeting of Tuesday, December 5, 2023.

The project for this  CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) was selected due to the severity of need and because all street improvements and drainage needs can be met through this one program.

The project activity location is off Hwy. 196 in the northern section of Long County; since it is so far north in Long County, several residences of the project activity have Glennville addresses.  The five streets are Church Corner Road, Espanola Lane, Washington and Marcus Drives, and the easter section of Woods Lane to the Marcus and Washington Drive intersection. All five streets are currently unpaved and lack proper or any drainage facilities, which produce extremely poor and unsafe driving conditions.

A total of 51 families comprised of 206 persons reside in the project location. Of these persons, 185 or 89.8 percent are low and moderate income. According to the surveys, 102 or 49.5 percent have annual incomes that are less than the very low income level as set by HUD (Housing and Urban Development) for Long County. Also, of these 206 persons, 201 or 97.5 percent are minorities;  96.6 percent of these persons are of Hispanic origin.

According to Carol Southard, in making the presentation, the project will be put out to bid within the next six months, and the two-year project should be completed within the next two years.

Another agenda item included the approval of Georgia Asphalt Producers, Inc.’s low bid of $477,012 for the Long County LMIG (Local Maintenance Improvement Grant) project, which will provide for the resurfacing of Mill Pond Road.

Long County Commissioners include Chairman Robert D. Parker, Vice Chairman Gerald Blocker, John Boy Reddish, James Craft, and Jeremy Hall. Meetings are usually held on the first Tuesday of each month at 9 a.m. in the Mary Ann Odum Government Annex.