The town council’s plans for a possible sewer system continued this week as Mayor Kenneth Kilgo announced his 2007 top priorities for the town during the council’s regular meeting Monday night.

According to Kilgo, the sewer project will remain his top priority for the year. He said he hopes to have entered a design phase by mid summer.

That project was proposed by Kilgo prior to taking office in early December. He said the town government’s hope is that a modest sewer system will help attract new businesses to the area located on Ala. Highway 157, near the I-65 junction.

“Let’s work hard, but smart,” Kilgo said of the project, which he estimates will cost about $1 million.

While the proposed sewer project still in the planning phases, Kilgo and the council seem to be tackling the project fairly aggressively. During Monday’s meeting, the council heard presentations from company spokespeople hoping to be involved in the system.

The first, from Cullman-based J.H. Wright and Associates, proposes a low-pressure system with smaller lines than required in a standard gravity system. According to company spokesman Andrew Crawford, the low-pressure system will cost the town about 25 percent less to install.

His company is already installing a similar system in Eva.

The second presentation came from Gary L. Owen and Associates, a Hoover-based civil engineering and consulting firm that also hopes to be involved in the project.

“The biggest mistake is not to think big,” Owen said. “You’re not going to get any big employer on this side of the Interstate until you’ve got a sewer system in place.”

Other objectives set forth by Kilgo included an interim population census in 2007. He said by increasing the town’s registered population, they will also increase its income from established tax revenues.

Kilgo also said he hopes to obtain a piece of property on 157 currently owned by the State Department of Transportation. If obtained, the property could be utilized for the sewer system, a maintenance shop or a fire department, Kilgo said. Wait time on that project is about two months, according to Kilgo.