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The Town of Goshen has received grant funding of nearly a half million dollars for improvements to its infrastructure and for street improvements.

Mayor Darren Jordan said that amount might not seem like much to larger cities but, for Goshen, it’s big money.

The grants are greatly appreciated by the council and the citizens of Goshen, he said.

“If the city had to fund these improvements out of pocket, we would be 30 years or more paying them off,” Jordan said in explaining what the grant funding means to Goshen.

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) award from the  Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) to the Town of Goshen is in the amount of $260,000. The funds will be used to upgrade the town’s water system by increasing several water mains from three inches to six inches and to install valves that will allow for shutting off and cutting on the town’s water supply.

“These improvements will increase the volume of water to our fire hydrants and will provide for more water sustainability when fighting fires,” Jordan said. “That will lower our ISO rating and potentially lower insurance rates for the residents of Goshen.”

The additional grant of $220,000 will be funded by the State of Alabama gas tax.

Although, Jordan said he is not a proponent of new taxes, it would be difficult for Goshen to maintain and upgrade streets without grant funding.

“We don’t have a large tax base so we couldn’t do any paving without going deep into debt, So we are also very appreciative of the gas tax grant,” Jordan said. “The grant funds will be used to pave three small streets – about one mile’s worth. These streets have not been repaved since back in the 1950s to early  1970s.”

Jordan said it’s not feasible to “just” repair the potholes in the streets over and over.

“This gas tax grant is making it possible to do more than patch potholes. It allows us to make longtime improvements the streets,” he said.

“It has been a real blessing for us to receive the funds from ADECA and the gas tax at the same time,” Jordan said. “Those grants, totaling $480,000, are very big for a small town.  We are very appreciative of the funding that will greatly benefit our town.”

The Town of Goshen has recently received additional tax revenue from the local Dollar General.

Those dollars are making it possible for the council to look ahead to other projects that will benefit the citizens of Goshen.