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Community Series
From the
January 2009 issue of Alabama Living magazine
News from Sulligent’s Mayor, Scott Boman
Interview by Kay Marshall
KM: With a new year ahead can you give our readers an update on how your community has progressed in 2008, and what your goals are for 2009?
BOMAN: “With 2008 being an election year, a lot of things tend to slow down and people become more conservative when making decisions. But, the things we have worked on this past year include the approval of a one-half million dollar grant for sewer extension and rehab. This project will include areas in the city that do not currently have sewer. We will also be rehabilitating some of the existing lines and paving or resurfacing any roads within the project area. We also have secured an $18,000 grant to purchase a new police car which the city will only have to contribute $3,000 towards. Additionally, we also have bids out with two hospitals for the leasing of a new facility - which we are building - to house a family practice doctor. We had a previous facility here but, due to its age, we had to take the structure down in 2005-2006. As such we made a decision to go ahead and get a new facility in here. The city would absorb the cost of the building and the lease payments would recoup the costs of the building within a ten-year period.”
 KM: What about job prospects, and the ever-present concern over industrial recruitment?
BOMAN: “Industrial recruitment is indeed still a concern. We’re going to have to get 278-E onto the I-22 corridor to be competitive. Until that happens we’ll continue to be handicapped to some extent. We are, however, continuing to build our infrastructure to get Sulligent ready for recruitment. With the economy like it is, and unemployment the highest in years, it places even more challenges on us as well. But, we remain relatively stable on the financial front.
KM: On a community-wide note, what are some of the things that the city is doing to help your citizens through these rough economic times?
BOMAN: “One of the projects we started this last year - which we want to take city-wide - is the launching of free, wireless, Internet service in downtown Sulligent. We now have a lot of requests to have this service for residents as well. We are in the process of expanding the service to the library and the school area, and hope to expand it into the residential areas in the future to help cut costs for our residents. We are especially proud that this project helps those in low-income areas as well as being a great asset to our educational systems.” d
NOTE: Due to scheduling conflicts the January 2009 interview, with Mayor Bobby Holliday, will be rescheduled for a future issue |
