Hopeful to meet the upcoming deadline on a major downtown improvement grant, the Hanceville City Council has approved a project engineer for any grant-funded work that may be heading the city’s way.

At a specially-called meeting Monday, the council selected Montgomery-based construction services firm Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood to oversee any projects that may result from the city’s application for federal funds through a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).

Hancville has participated in CDBG grant programs in the past. But new federal regulations require applicants to pre-select a firm to carry out the grant-funded work — before the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), which administers the grants, will even consider a grant application to be complete.

“It’s a lot of extra work, and it kind of gets the cart before the horse,” said Mayor Kenneth Nail at a council meeting last month. “But it’s just one of the hoops that you have to jump through if you want to be eligible for the grant.”

City leaders will meet with representatives from the North Central Alabama Regional Council of Governments (NARCOG) this month to identify which community improvement projects Hanceville hopes to tackle, should it receive the CDBG funds.

Previous council discussions have targeted downtown beautification and infrastructure upgrades ranging from expanded sidewalks to additional street lighting.

Aug. 31 is the grant’s application deadline. The city may apply for an amount up to $350,000, which would be awarded contingent on a 10 percent match from the recipient.

Benjamin Bullard can be reached by phone at 256-734-2131 ext. 145.