Valley Grande mayor eyes sewer expansion, city police department

Valley Grande Mayor John Hatfield has two major goals for the growing city: adding sewer lines on Alabama 22 and looking into a city police department.

Hatfield told members of the Rotary Club of Selma on Monday that he plans to retire in about four months from his longtime role as chief deputy with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office to devote more time to leading the growing city.

Hatfield, who was elected mayor last November, said a top focus is getting a public sewer system on Highway 22 to attract new commercial investment.

The city recently completed a $30,000 sewer study examining the feasibility of connecting to Selma’s sewer system, which Hatfield said has significant unused treatment capacity.

“Selma doesn’t use most of its capacity,” Hatfield said, explaining that Valley Grande could build pumping stations to connect businesses to Selma’s existing infrastructure rather than constructing its own treatment plant.

Existing businesses such as Dave’s Market, which generates about $3 million in annual revenue, and Valley Grande Mexican restaurant that generates approximately $2 million annually, rely on septic systems that must be pumped every four to five weeks.

Hatfield said Valley Grande Mexican wants to build a 250-seat restaurant, but sewer infrastructure is needed first.

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His vision is to extend sewer service along Highway 22 to the Baptist church, opening additional commercial property while preserving the quality of life in residential neighborhoods.

The city is also moving forward with several other projects, including road paving through a Rebuild Alabama grant and the construction of new tennis and pickleball courts.

On public safety, Hatfield said Valley Grande would like to establish its own police department, estimating it would cost about $1 million annually to operate. While he believes the city will eventually need its own department, he said the current tax base cannot sustain the expense.

“We could probably sustain it for three years, but after that we couldn’t,” Hatfield said, adding that increased commercial development could make a police department financially feasible within three to five years.

Instead, the city continues to rely on the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement, with the county also maintaining Valley Grande’s roads under an agreement with the city.

Hatfield isn’t the only leader at the Sheriff’s office to retire soon. Sheriff Mike Granthum is also retiring, and Hatfield said he would like to hire Granthum to be Valley Grande’s public safety director.

As Valley Grande looks toward future growth, Hatfield said his administration’s goal is to make the city “bigger and better than it’s ever been” while ensuring that growth strengthens the entire Dallas County region.