Comer’s downtown district is undergoing a $726,000 facelift set to wrap up in October.
Aided by $700,000 worth of grant money, the city is tackling storm water drainage issues that have long plagued the city’s business district.
”Over the years, we’ve problems with water (going) into buildings, front, back, this, that and the other,” city clerk and financial officer Steve Sorrells said. “That was sort of the essence of the whole thing.”
The project, started in February, will provide Comer with a better stormwater control system downtown.
Part of the funding for the project comes from a Community Development Block Grant redevelopment program, the other from the Appalachian Regional Commission.
When construction is finished, owners of buildings and business downtown can hook downspouts onto a “formally constructed storm sewer system,” Sorrells said.
Curbing, guttering and sidewalks are part of the storm water drainage improvement package, too.
This segment of the project will add 3,000 feet of sidewalk to Comer’s downtown streets.
“It will be much more conducive for people to walk around downtown,” Sorrells said. “Sidewalks, walking areas and travel areas will be a lot better defined. We feel they will be safer.”
Apart from the grant-funded storm water improvement plans, the city also sought to replace out-dated downtown fire hydrants and waterlines.
Some of the old cast-iron mains dated back to the 1940s.
“They’ve given us a good bit of trouble over the years,” Sorrells said.
Comer leaders opted to use approximately $140,000 of SPLOST money tagged for sewer and water projects to remedy the long-standing problem.
“It is a huge improvement,” Sorrells said. “When we realized the possibility, it just really excited us on what we might be able to do as far as getting the waterline improvements.”
The new lines should enhance circulation all over town and aid Comer’s efforts to improve its ISO rating (currently a 5). Lower ISO ratings could mean lower insurance premiums for homeowners.
This additional project, however, altered the storm water drainage improvement project timetable.
But Comer was granted a 60-day extension by its funding agencies, pushing the completion date back two months.
