MEADVILLE — State grant funds are on the way to help the townwith community and economic development efforts, officialssaid.

Meadville has been approved for a $243,790 Rural Impact Grantfrom the Mississippi Development Authority to widen and resurfaceSouth Second Street, said Garrick Combs, Franklin County economicdeveloper.

“They’re also going to fix some rainwater runoff problems,”Combs said, citing water back up in Telepak.Net building on thestreet.

To address the problem, the town applied for the state grant onbehalf of Telepak and its sister company Cellular South, which isalso located on South Second Street.

The grant will fix one of the companies’ biggest problems byadding several parallel parking spaces along the street, Combssaid. The additional parking will benefit both companies.

Combs said both Telepak and Cellular South are excellentcorporate citizens that have invested hundreds of thousands ofdollars in the community and have created over 80 jobs. Additionalnew jobs are expected.

“Both companies plan to hire new employees in the next 12months, which was a condition for getting the grant,” said Combs,who also expressed appreciation to state Rep. Dr. Jim Barnett andSen. Bob Dearing for their assistance in securing the funds.

Combs said a minimum of five jobs must be created. He did notanticipate any problems in meeting that goal.

“They’ve grown at a great rate,” Combs said.

Combs said engineering on the project is expected to start soon.Due to inclement weather in the winter, Combs said the projectlikely would not be done until the spring.

“We’ll be finished in the next 12 months,” Combs said.