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LANETT — The Lanett City Council approved a resolution Monday to apply for a grant that would enable the city to receive $126,000 in needed equipment while costing the city less than $50,000.

The equipment is needed at the airport and includes a tractor, a front-end loader and a flex wing cutter. If the grant is approved, these items will be kept at the airport and used in routine maintenance. The airport is on track to be reopened in late March or early April.

The grant is available through a USDA Rural Development program in which the federal government funds 55 percent of the cost and local governments 45 percent. The state will reimburse $50,000 of the total cost. The equipment is available on the state bid list and can be acquired from SunSouth LLC of Columbus, Georgia.

“This is a very good deal for us,” Police Chief Johnny Wood told the council. “We would be getting $126,000 worth of new equipment at a cost to the city of no more than $50,000.”

Wood said that the city’s applications for two new police cars and a street sweeper have been approved.

“They are paid for,” he said. “All we are waiting on is the release of the funds.”

In other action, the council approved the appointment of Randall Aikens to represent the city on the Chattahoochee Valley Water Supply District’s board of directors.

Board members serve four-year terms.

The CVWSD board is made up of entities which receive water from the processing plant near Kroger in Lanett. Those entities include the City of Lanett, the East Alabama Water, Sewer and Fire Protection District and the Huguley Water Authority.

Each entity has three board representatives.

Council Member Angelia Thomas said there were some continuing issues with the job being done by solid waste contractor AmWaste that needed to be corrected.

“I understand they are short handed right now,” she said. “But there have been lots of complaints about their service. I’ve been told that some half-full trash cans have been left in the street. We need to see what can be done about this.”

Heard said he was planning on meeting with AmWaste officials in his office this week to talk about the complaints and what can be done to address them.

Thomas asked Electrical and Gas Department head Allen Summers if he could check out a possible problem near the old kindergarten building in the Lanett mill village. There’s on-again, off-again complaints from nearby residents of an odor that smells like natural gas.

“I have been getting complaints about this,” Thomas said. “I just want to make sure that it’s not dangerous to the residents and that it can be taken care of.”