Parking lot project finished on time, under budget

A public-private partnership—and a lot of hard work—are what Barry Mott credits for the fact that the new parking lot downtown is completed on time and under budget.

Mott, Engineer and Director of Public Works for the City of Progress, is among those who gathered Dec. 14 for an official ribbon cutting for the 75 vehicle parking space parking lot located between Lee Street and Easy Street, behind the former Yancey Parker Men’s Store building.

Buildings previously located on the privately-owned lot had had been torn down years ago and the lot had been vacant except for remaining slabs and ragged blocks of concrete or bricks.

“The first project you tasked me with was to get that parking lot open in time for the Christmas parade,” Mott told the council at the Enterprise City Council meeting Dec. 7. “This was a team building exercise for us as much as it was to accomplish something for the community. We celebrate the successes as much as we tackle the problems.”

Mott said the project came in on time and about $30,000 under budget through a team effort as he presented the council with a framed aerial photograph of the parking lot signed by the 40 people who worked on the project. The photo today hangs in the public works building at the suggestion of council members.

“I wish I had taken a before picture of what it looked like before we started working on it,” Mott said at the parking lot ribbon cutting Dec. 14. “Thank you to the mayor and council for challenging the staff to figure out a way to make this happen.”

Mott thanked businessman and lot-owner Ross Cotter for his partnership with the city that made the project possible. “This public-private partnership is something that is going to help the community,” Mott told Cotter.

“From the bottom of my heart, thank you,” Mott said to city personnel attending the ribbon cutting. The city water department, street department, sewer department, the fleet department and facility maintenance department all participated in the project.

Mott also thanked the Alabama Department of Transportation, the Coffee County Commission and county engineers Marty Lenz and Michael Waters for their assistance with the project.

Mott thanked Three Notch Partners for consulting services, Wiregrass Construction for paving,

Lewis Construction for concrete and the sidewalks, Tristate Paving for the striping and Alabama Power for the overhead lights.

“A successful collaborative effort,” is what Enterprise Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Erin Grantham called the project. “The parking lot is in a very historic location being behind the Yancey Parker building which at one time was city hall,” she told those at the ribbon cutting. “This is much needed improvement to our downtown area.

Enterprise Mayor William Cooper said he is grateful for the public-private partnership that made the parking lot development possible. “Thank you to the Cotter family for being good stewards and helping us to get this done,” he said. “And this is just the beginning of what we are going to do downtown.

“This new parking lot is one of the many public-private projects that we are doing,” he said adding that another downtown 44-vehicle parking lot is being created across the street from Annie’s Restaurant through a partnership with First Baptist Church, the property owners.