Left to right: Councilman Curtis Johnson, Mayor Donnis Leeth, Councilman Samuel Ashford and Councilman Melvin Hammond (W.C. Mann for The Cullman Tribune)
COLONY – On Tuesday evening, during the regular meeting of the Colony Town Council, Mayor Donnis Leeth announced that he had heard from a developer with whom he has been working, who informed him that Colony is going to get its Dollar General. Bringing a local franchise of the neighborhood retail chain to the town has been part of Leeth’s platform since he entered office.
Said Leeth, “The guy called me Friday, about 4, and all he said was, ‘We got the Dollar General!’ He’s supposed to be calling me back in about two weeks.”
The store will be located on Alabama Highway 91, not far from the interstate. A schedule for construction has not been set.
Town Clerk Patricia Ponder also informed The Tribune that Colony will, by March 15, have at least 10 raised beds constructed at the Colony Educational Complex for a grant-funded community garden. Not only will the project, supported by the Morehouse School of Medicine, promote community health through activity and food production, but the program is “green” as well. Volunteers spent time this week learning about sorting household garbage and saving lawn mower clippings to produce compost, and Ponder said that even the topsoil for the garden beds is being recycled from soil removed during the construction of the town’s tornado shelter.
The Town has received funding to participate in a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) food purchasing program that could provide tons of food per year for local families in need. The amount of food the town would be required to take and distribute exceeds the needs of the local food pantry, so Ponder is looking at options for the program. Colony’s Carpenter’s Cabinet food pantry currently purchases food at a substantial discount from the North Alabama Food Bank.
The Town is also working with Cullman County Economic Development on a grant to purchase a generator that would allow town hall to continue operating if a weather event or natural disaster shut down power to the area.
While not taking official action, the council also discussed the possibility of reopening the town’s community center on Sunday afternoons and evenings to provide activities for local children and teens. Councilman Curtis Johnson also reported that he hopes to have piping for the center’s water feature repaired so the feature can reopen later this year.
The Colony Town Council meets on the second and fourth Tuesday evenings of each month in Colony Town Hall at 6 p.m. The public is invited to attend.
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