By Michael A. Cummings

MICHAELC@CULLMANTIMES.COM

The town of West Point has begun preparations on a plan to assume control of a portion of the county sewage system running through the township.

Town officials hope to reach an agreement as early as this afternoon with the Cullman County Board of Education to take control of the system, a move that would green-light a proposed half-mile extension of the system to include West Point residents and businesses.

Board of Education Superintendent Hank Allen said the project would benefit both his department and the town of West Point.

“It gets us out of the sewer business, which we didn’t necessarily want to be in,” Allen said. “So it does help the school system and relieve them of a burden. We also think it will benefit the town and the community there.”

West Point Mayor Kenneth Kilgo said the town hopes to take over the extension from the Board of Education by October 1 — at which time construction on the extension would be finished or nearing completion.

“It’s consistent with our budget planning because we’re on the same fiscal schedule,” Kilgo said.

West Point received major support for the project recently from the office of Gov. Bob Riley, which promised the town $75,000 for construction costs. Those state funds resulted from a recommendation by the Appalachian Regional Commission based on the project’s infrastructure development and job creation potential.

“They gave us guidance to complete the process,” said Kilgo.

Part of the project’s job creation potential is dependent on development of the State Highway 157 corridor in West Point, something Kilgo said is a modest economic development plan.

“With no sewer, you can’t get any economic development,” Kilgo said. “(This would be) just a little modest growth along the 157 corridor.”

The focal point of any economic development along Highway 157 would be the addition of a Jack’s Family Restaurant along the road, which would create 40 to 60 new jobs. Kilgo said attorneys for Jack’s are going over an agreement to build in West Point.

As soon as the agreements are in place, Kilgo said they will be sent to ARC, which will then require a four week environmental impact analysis. West Point will then accept bids on the project for 30 days.

“We’ll start breaking ground as soon as we can,” Kilgo said.

Kilgo said the proposed system, which would provide free sewage services to West Point School for 11 years, will be able to serve businesses and residences across West Point’s stretch of Highway 157. Built in 1975, the current system provides service only to West Point School; residences in town rely on septic tanks.