Conecuh Ridge Distillery has issued a notice to proceed to Troy officials to take the next step forward in the process of beginning construction of the new facility.

Mayor Jason Reeves said he received the notice within an hour of the council meeting Tuesday that the distillery was finally ready to move forward.

“We will be working on finalizing this tomorrow; we’re required to do a few things now so that we can proceed, but it will likely be completed before the next council meeting,” Reeves said.

The update made one item on the agenda more pressing issue, Reeves said – the decision to no longer claim a section of a water pipe that runs through the property where the distillery will be located. “This will clean up the deed and get that settled,” Reeves said.

The council suspended the rules and voted unanimously to forfeit control of the section of pipe that has been abandoned since new upgraded pipes were placed closer to the roadway on Trojan Way.

Reeves said he would have more details Wednesday about the next steps in the process to bring the whiskey distillery to Troy.

The council first announced their recruitment of the distillery, producer of Clyde May’s Alabama-style whiskey, in September 2017. The city offered over $3 million in incentives over the next 10 years to persuade the company to locate in Troy, in return for a commitment from the company to invest over $13.5 million into the economy and employ 50 people.

The city has already borrowed $1.7 million to purchase the property and a portion that was outside the city limits has already been annexed, but the city has not yet purchased the land. The 72-acre site is adjacent to Orion and Braswell streets.

In other business, the council:

• Approved bids totaling $54,119 for the replacement and upgrade of equipment at the Walnut Creek wastewater treatment plant. The project bids were previously denied by the council due to an error in the bidding process.
• Awarded a bid to Pike County Ford for utility vehicles previously awarded to Bill Jackson Chevrolet. The items had to be awarded to Pike County Ford, the next lowest bidder, because the Chevrolet dealer could no longer provide the vehicles at the same price due to changes with GM and Chevrolet.

Heard from Margie Florence Barrow about concerns at the Boys and Girls Club and other housing and community concerns