Cairo is awarded $500,000 grant

City of Cairo officials learned Friday that the city has been awarded a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
City Manager Chris Addleton says the second time was the charm for the grant application for the Teresa Edwards St. S.W. stormwater drainage project.
“We were real close last year, but we didn’t get it. So we reapplied this year and knew we had a really good application,” the city manager said.
The city’s grant application was written by Bob Roberson of Bob Roberson & Associates of Moultrie.
The grant project will include infrastructure improvements to correct stormwater drainage issues, as well as curb and gutters and resurfacing.
“This is a project similar to the Copeland Ave. project,” Addleton said.
The city manager anticipates the project will be put out for bid next year and work will probably get underway sometime next summer.
“We surely are glad to be funded for this project. It helps fill some gaps,” Addleton said.
The city is investing $109,550 in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax proceeds  in the project. The city manager says grant applications that include an investment of local funds have better chances of being approved.
CDBG grants are funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The federal funds are used to fund the state’s CDBG program and it is administered by the Georgia DCA.
In Governor Nathan Deal’s announcement Friday, more than $38.8 million in grants were awarded.
In addition to Cairo, other neighboring recipients include: Blakely – sewer improvements, $500,000; Decatur County – drainage/street improvements, $495,363; Donalsonville – water/sewer improvements, $500,000; Moultrie – drainage/street improvements, $471,120; and Thomas County – drainage/street improvements, $420,550.