The news released last week that the city of Valley will be seeking a $6 million commercial loan along with a USDA Rural Development grant is another notch in the belt for the current officeholders running the city.

The money is expected to go toward a number of different civic ventures, including building a water tower and water lines in the Valley Industrial Park, running a new sewer line from the industrial park to the existing East Alabama water treatment plant and paying down a current bond owed to AuburnBank.

Mayor Leonard Riley has often reiterated to the public know that his time in office has been squarely focused on bringing the city of Valley and the surrounding area back to an economic level it hasn’t seen for decades. Seeking and receiving grants and loans of this magnitude obviously go a long way toward making those words bear fruit.

There are several new industries and businesses planning to set up in Valley and the industrial park has seen an increase in available land and refurbishing.

While at this time the rewards from these moves have not yet manifested, all signs point to them paying off in the near future.

Riley mentioned during a State of the City program earlier this year that the Greater Valley Area had been overly-invested in the mills and once they started to close, the economic future of the city started spiraling downward.

His goal has been to get this economic outlook back to a positive position. In this mission, one of the most crucial elements is to ensure a diversified employer base, so as to ensure the city does not fall into the same trap it did when the textile industry left. Things seem to be going according to plan.

Hopefully, the good tidings keep on coming.