LINDEN &045; James Mock from the University of West Alabama spoke with the city council yesterday about the $20,000 grant awarded to the city.

Mock, the director of the Center for Regional Community Economic Development at the university, asked the council to set up a dinner so that they and the industrial development board of Linden could begin working on the grant. Mock spoke to the board about the planning dinner with the council at its Dec. 11 meeting.

Mock said that he wanted the community involved with the project but that the group would have to be limited to reduce the delays that large groups bring. Mock said that he would be a facilitator to the group chosen by the two bodies that would decide how the grant money was used.

The grant provides the city with $20,000 that will be used to improve the economic situation of the city. Monk said that this is the first year that the university has provided this grant to cities and that there is no outline to follow.

Gates was crucial in the grant being awarded to the city, and she was involved in writing up the proposal to the university that was one of the few chosen from the applicants for the grant. Monk said that the linden proposal was chosen because the university thought that its goals were in line with what they wanted to do with the new grant.

The group set a tentative meeting time for the council, board and Monk of Jan. 18, on the stipulation that there not be scheduling issues with anyone involved. Monk said he wanted the grant to move forward as quickly as possible.

4In other business, Councilman Dennis Breckenridge said that Sanitation, Parks and Recreation would begin planned work on Scott Park in the next several days. He said that he would have more information on the specific plans at the next meeting.