By DONALD MOTTERN | Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA – The Shelby County Commission approved a resolution calling for the creation and expansion of recreational trails during its meeting on Monday, Oct. 23.

“This one is to go and do an expansion of the trail system at Double Oak Park,” said Chad Scroggins, county manager for Shelby County. “About 12 months ago, we opened that park with a spine of a system and it is being heavily, heavily, used. They have designed a really nice flow that will utilize these funds to build and improve the quality of life through this particular system. It’s already been extremely popular.”

The trail expansion at Double Oak Park, which is being done in conjunction with the county’s involvement with the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs’ (ADECA) Recreational Trails Program, will construct approximately 12 miles of multi-use trails that will interconnect with preexisting trails already present in the park and create what is referred to as a stack-loop trail system.

“This is going to have trails at the ridge‑at the top of the ridge with really nice scenic views,” Scroggins said. “It will also have a trail that starts down at the bottom of the (County Road) 43 side at the creek. It will bridge over and come back down the creek, and it will be a very nice walk. On that particular walk, you might not hear anything but running water.”

ADECA’s grant program is limited to funding a maximum of 80 percent of any project’s cost. With this particular project, which carries a projected total cost of $571,429, the county’s resolution calls for the provision of $221,429, or 38.75 percent of the total.

ADECA will therefore be providing a total of $350,000 in grant assistance to accomplish the expansion.

The county’s share of the cost will be provided with direct funds from the county’s lodging tax revenues and in-kind labor services.

“I’ve got lots of feedback from our legislative group, including the House and the Senate group, congratulating us and also thanking us for the partnership at the state level,” Commissioner Kevin Morris said. “Thanking us for continuing to work with these resources to expand the areas that really matter to our citizens.”

Additionally, the Commission also awarded the bid for the construction of a mass storage hangar that will be located at the Shelby County Airport to Coston General Contractors, Inc. in the amount of $1,475,726.

This new 147-by-80-foot storage hangar is set to replace some of the airport’s old and currently insufficient shade hangars.

In other news, the commission passed the following:

• A resolution for the purchase of creosoted timbers.
• A resolution appointing Commissioner Morris as Commission Chairman and Commissioner Hayes as Vice-Chairman.
• Resolutions for the purchase of a new four door SUV 2-wheel drive and a four door SUV 4-wheel drive from Hoover Toyota in the amounts of $42,915.50 and $46,690.50 respectively.
• A resolution awarding a bid for copper tubing and pvc pipe to Empire Pipe & Supply in the amount of $44,808
• A resolution acknowledging no bids were received for HVAC/Refrigeration Equipment, Parts, and Supplies. Therefore, purchases will be made as outlined by the State of Alabama Bid Law.
• A resolution awarding a bid for generator maintenance and repair service to Thompson Power Systems.
• A resolution acknowledging the receipt of only one bid for the Shelby County Landfill Gas Collection System Expansion Project. Therefore, work for the project will be negotiated through the receipt of informal bids and any negotiated pricing being lower than the only received bid.