The Salem City Council Monday night agreed to seek a federal grant up to $1.5 million to replace waterlines in an area bound by North Broadway, East Main, North Shelby and East Boone.
Mayor Nic Farley says if the grant is approved, the city is committed to contribute up to $375,000 as a local share of the project.
“We’re trying to make sure that our infrastructure is up to date,” Farley said, “and that’s kind of the next area that we want to focus on, going down our list.”
The city applied for the grant last year but was not funded.
The council purchased a new 2024 Ford F-150 Pickup that will be the new canine unit. The purchase was made through money left in the police department budget this year as a result of the department being up to six officers short at some times last year.
The council accepted a $104,000 grant from LE Body Cam that will provide just over $20,000 a year to the city to offset the cost of the mandated body cameras. Police Chief Todd Boles congratulated Deputy Chief Tyler Rose for writing the grant.
The council passed an amended TIF Intergovernmental Agreement with the Selmaville Grade School Board which fell between the cracks during an administrative change. In addition to the original support for the TIF 2 extension on the west side of Salem, Selmaville has now provided a letter of support for a twelve-year extension of the TIF3 downtown district. As part of the original agreement, Selmaville will receive $22,000 for extending TIF2.
The city’s finance director will provide a recommendation to the city council on how much of a credit card processing fee should be charged for those using a credit card for services at the Salem Aquatic Center.
