A drainage rehabilitation project is expected to begin in early October at Troy Municipal Airport.

The Troy City Council on Tuesday awarded the bid to Blankenship Contracting Inc., the lowest bidder for the project.

“That drainage was put in during World War II,” said Mayor Jason Reeves. “It’s in desperate need.”

The total cost of the project will be $555,000, but the City of Troy will pay only 5 percent of that cost, which amounts to $27,250.

The Alabama Department of Transportation also will pay 5 percent and the Federal Aviation Administration will provide the other 90 percent of funds.

“When you can match 95 percent with 5 percent, that’s always a good situation,” Reeves said.

Michelle Conway, project manager at the architecture and engineering firm Goodwyn, Mills, and Cawood, Inc., said that work should begin by the first or second week of October and that it is a 90-day project.

The council also awarded a bid to S. A. Graham for a project that will repair drainage on five streets in Troy, including Pine Street, Vine Street and Woodland Circle that were damaged by heavy rain and flooding in December 2015.

The bid placed by S. A. Graham was $379,400, of which FEMA will cover nearly 82 percent with a provision of $309,000.

The council approved funding for the Pike Area Transit System during the meeting.

Troy pays about $85,000 annually to help fund the collaborative program. Pike County and Brundidge also provide funds, but the majority of costs are paid through federal funding.

“People depend on this system every day to get to work, to the doctor or to do their grocery shopping,” Reeves said.

The council also held the first reading of an ordinance that would allow retiring firefighters with 25 or more years of service to keep their helmets, badges and potentially other gear at the discretion of the fire chief.

There is already an ordinance in place that allows law enforcement officers who retire after 25 years with the city to receive their badges and service weapons.

Action will be taken on the ordinance at the next city council meeting, which will be held at 5 p.m. on August 23.

Due to the council meeting falling on the same day as the municipal election, the council approved a verbal resolution that the council meeting will not adjourn that day, but rather be recessed until August 30 to decide other items on the agenda.