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LANETT — In action taken at Monday’s meeting of the Lanett City Council, resolutions were approved for streetscape work to be done this year along First Street.

One of the resolutions is a construction agreement between the city and the state of Alabama and the other is an engineering service agreement between the city and the project engineer, Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood.

The work that’s presently under way on a small section of First Street is being funded through an Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grant. A $650,000 Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant will finish the project from Highway 29 to Eighth Avenue near Veterans Park and W.O. Lance Elementary School.

“We were really fortunate to have gotten this grant,” Mayor Kyle McCoy said of the TAP grant. “At one time, TAP grants were limited to $400,000. They were increased this year. That’s what allowed us to be approved for $650,000. We’re excited to have been approved, and it will make a major difference in the appearance of our city. It will transform it into a welcoming place for visitors and a place to be proud of for those of us who live here.”

Weather permitting, the streetscape work will soon be finished along North Lanier Avenue, and the street will be paved. The wooden utility poles from Cherry Drive to the Tanyard Creek bridge are being replaced with taller, metal ones. Wide sidewalks with planter areas for small trees, shrubs and flowers will be on both sides of the street along with the decorative lamp posts. By 2022, a similar look will be on both sides of First Street from Highway 29 to Eighth Avenue.

“It’s now in the design phase,” McCoy said. “We will have drawings that will show what it will look like. We think it’s going to be really nice. The resolutions we passed tonight will help us get started on it.”