GARLAND — The town board has begun a search for grants to aid in funding various projects that will provide maintenance and beautification.
The board landed on the subject of grants after hearing a series of updates from Joey LaFluer who works with the town’s public works department. In particular, LaFleur made the board aware of issues the department has faced in dealing with the town’s water.
“The water valves, we’ve had some problems with them throughout the past couple months,” said LaFleur. “A lot of them aren’t working. They’re probably as old as the pipes in the ground themselves.”
Water valves help properly control the flow of water through a plumbing system, helping the water start and stop flowing. If the valve doesn’t work properly, it can result in leaks or no water at all. If the water is leaking, residents could potentially be charged for inaccurate water readings.
“We’ve talked about it before, having to cut off a section because we have a bad leak or do something else to fix it,” said LaFleur. “I’ve been talking with John Cannon from Consolidated Pipe and, thank goodness, he came along. He’s a walking encyclopedia about this stuff.”
According to LaFleur, Cannon stated that the town could apply for grants to help pay to fix the issue. Cannon was slated to appear at the meeting with LaFleur but was unable to attend for personal reasons.
“I don’t know who I need to talk to to get started on that, but that’s why I’m here,” said LaFleur.
Mayor Ralph Smith Jr. acknowledged that it was time to start looking for grants and asked town clerk Samantha Hobbs to start looking for potential funding solutions.
“It’s grant hunting season, so we need to start looking for any that we can find around here,” said Smith. “We need to get up with Mid-Carolina Regional Council to see what a grant for this would cost us. While we’re on that, let’s look at ones for demolitions, water and sewer equipment. We need to see what’s out there for us and then we can go from there. “
LaFleur agreed with the mayor’s sentiments, stating that if the town could find grants to fix problems such as this, the less strain it would cause them over time.
The mayor said the town would begin looking for grants “as quick as possible.”