Bay Minette Considers State 250th-Anniversary Grant for Veterans' Display
The Bay Minette City Council took up a state grant on May 18 to fund a veterans' display marking America's 250th birthday this July 4. The award comes from Alabama's A250AL Semiquincentennial Community Grant program.
Bay Minette is moving to accept state money for a veterans' display marking America's 250th birthday this July 4, the city's May 18 council agenda shows. Resolution 0526-10, taken up under new business, would accept an Alabama USA Semiquincentennial Community Grant — known by its acronym, A250AL.
The grant is one slice of a $725,000 statewide program run by the Alabama USA Semiquincentennial Commission, a state body the Legislature created in 2021 to lead Alabama's role in the country's 250th-anniversary observances. The program offers up to 250 community grants of $2,500 to Alabama cities and counties — awarded first-come, first-served — alongside a smaller tier of 100 grants of $1,000 for qualifying nonprofits, the commission's published guidelines say. Funded projects have to run between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31, 2026, and meet at least one of four program goals. One of those goals is honoring "the service and sacrifices of American veterans of all generations" — the angle Bay Minette took. The city's application went in before the program's May 8 statewide deadline.
Agenda excerpt, May 18 council meeting, page 3, Resolution 0526-10.
The award would be $2,500 — the standard amount for municipal grants under the program, which limits each Alabama city or county to one. The council has not said publicly where the display will go or when it will open.
The milestone the grant marks — the Semiquincentennial, or 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026 — is drawing observances across the state and the country. Bay Minette is not alone among Baldwin County governments in marking it: in April, the Spanish Fort City Council voted to rename the portion of Alabama Route 225 within its limits "American Patriots Way" in connection with the anniversary. The A250AL grant program is the state's vehicle for helping local governments and nonprofits stage their own commemorations on a modest budget.