The Bowdon City Council approved a motion Monday to enter into a contract to apply for a grant to help fund about $600,000 in new water meters for residents and businesses.

City Manager Jim Meigs said only about 300 of the city’s 2,166 water meters were considered “relatively new,” and the updated meters would include a back-flow valve to prevent contamination and feature automated registers that would help free up public works employees, allowing them to spend more time on other projects in the city.

According to Meigs, some of the city’s water meters on commercial properties were in such bad condition that they were not reading water amounts, and the users had to estimate the amount of water used.

Carter Thompson, senior planner with Chattahoochee-Flint Regional Development Center, who is in charge of filing for the Community Development Block grant and possible USDA loan, said it will cost the city about $2,500 in administrative fees to apply to receive the funding for the new water meters.

“It is highly unlikely (Bowdon) wouldn’t qualify for some of the loans,” Thompson said.

Council members also unanimously approved to move forward with a second grant using stimulus money allocated by the federal government to fund two more positions at the Bowdon Police Department.

Police Chief Mark Brock said the grant would help fund one officer’s pay and benefits in an unfilled position and create a new position at the department to bring the number of sworn officers to 10, including the chief’s position.

“For the past two years we have used temporary and part-time employees to save money in the budget,” he said. “It would be great to fill this with a full-time officer.”

Meigs said the department has used federal grant money before, which paid 75 percent of the starting salary and benefits of an officer in the past, and the grant under the stimulus plan now will fund 100 percent of the pay and benefits for three years. He said the city would enter into an agreement to retain the officer for an additional 12 months beyond the first three years.

“I believe in four years our economy will make a recovery, and we will really need the help,” Brock said.

The council members also voted Monday to present a $1.4 million request to the Carroll County Board of Commissioners asking for Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds to build a track with a concession and storage facility at Jonesville Middle School, tennis courts at Bowdon High School and improvements to existing recreational facilities, which include a sprinkler system, fencing, playground equipment and expansion of the gymnastics building.

“This is not a wish list,” said Mayor James Watts Jr. “It’s a must list.”

Watts said the city has worked to narrow its list to areas of its recreational facilities that are in dire need of improvement.

“We have narrowed down to things we really need that will be utilized in the next 50 years,” he said.

Watts said the new track would include a 10-year warranty and feature a 6-foot tall fence around the property that would be built near the football field at the middle school.