When it comes to the state of Limestone County, there’s no doubt growth is part of the picture.

In his annual address, held Thursday at Beasley Center in Athens, Limestone County Commission Chairman Collin Daly described not only the growth the area has experienced so far but also how officials are preparing for the future.

“In 2019, they projected we had 96,474 people (in Limestone County),” Daly said. “I’m not scared to say today that we’re probably sitting at 100,000. I think we’ll even beat that number, with the growth we’re experiencing.”

To prepare for that growth, the commission has several projects in the works and a few set to begin soon. Daly presented a video that highlighted a few of these jobs, including the new engineering facility being built at the old L&S grocery property on North Jefferson Street in Athens.

“This property will be a multiyear transformation into a new engineering facility, which will allow our engineering department, engineering maintenance shop and equipment storage,” Daly says in the video, which features him driving around the county as he compares the county of his childhood to the county now.

The video also includes footage of the new bridge on Old Highway 20, which was closed after being damaged by floodwaters in December 2015. Daly said the bridge should reopen this year.

Old Highway 20 is also being widened to five lanes with curbs and gutters between Greenbrier Parkway and County Line Road. Phase 1 of the project, between Greenbrier Parkway to east of Greenbrier Road, is complete. Phase 2, from Segars Road to County Line Road, could be completed later this year, with Phase 3 — the part between Greenbrier Road and Segars Road — to begin this year and end in 2021.

A fourth phase of construction will extend Greenbrier Parkway from Old Highway 20 to Huntsville-Browns Ferry Road. The goal is to ease traffic congestion and make commuting easier for those traveling to, from or near the new Mazda-Toyota Manufacturing USA plant.

Daly also shared how a recent budget surplus allowed commissioners to take on additional projects in their respective districts. Roads on the list for improvement included East Limestone in District 1; Burgreen in District 2; Huntsville-Browns Ferry in District 3; and Witty Mill in District 4. Another 17 miles of resurfacing projects are set for this year, he said.

Census

A second video aired during the address featured each of the four commissioners — District 1’s Daryl Sammet, District 2’s Steve Turner, District 3’s Jason Black and District 4’s Ben Harrison — stressing the importance of participating in this year’s census.

“Having an accurate census count for Limestone County is important to vital programs such as education, health care, infrastructure and more that affect our county,” Turner said.

This year’s census count will also determine how much representation Alabama has in Congress.

“Our state is currently at risk of losing a congressional representative … due to projected slow growth,” Harrison said. “That means one less voice for Alabama values at the federal level.”

After the video ended, Daly said he may sound repetitive, but he intended to keep preaching the importance of an accurate census count because “dollars follow the numbers, not the needs.”

“It is vital to our community — not just here in our area, but to the whole state,” he said.

Many thanks

Another theme of the address was thankfulness. From county employees to everyday citizens, Daly said he was grateful for the work put in to keep Limestone County great.

“Limestone County has so much going on,” he said. “It’s a great place to live, great place to raise a family. I don’t think there’s a better place in the state of Alabama.”

He also said he hopes to build on the county’s regional partnerships in the future, noting multicounty communities like Madison and Ardmore.

“We’re all in this boat together, we’re all rowing together, we all have to go through this,” he said.