PILOT MOUNTAIN — After a brief review of several bids last night, the Pilot Mountain Board of Commissioners agreed to select a local contractor with the lowest bid of $74,342 to take on the water and sewer extension project related to building a $300,000 ABC Store in town later this year.

The board agreed to hire Carolina Environmental Specialists, which is out of Boonville, to handle the project.

BB&T is providing a loan of $300,000 at 4.190-percent interest rate to construct the building, which is expected to be finished by the end of this year or the start of next year.

In April, the board of commissioners agreed to purchase 1.575 acres of land off Veterans Drive for $140,000 that would be the site of the store.

On Monday, the board also approved an updated design of the ABC Store presented by Doug Brannon, the chair of the Pilot Mountain ABC Board. The design included the type of brick to be used and lay out of the store sign.

“We’re finally making progress,” Brannon told the board Monday, as he held up the store designs. “It’s understated, but it’s nice.”

He said he expected an award of construction bids at the end of August and for construction to start immediately afterwards.

The board also approved two budget amendments, one which is for proposed downtown renovations, which is an ongoing project to revitalize the downtown area. The amendment calls for $35, 727 to be used from the general fund of $1,547,000, along with a $55,000 grant from Surry LEAD to help finance the $120,727 project that is divided into three phases including concrete and curbing.

“It’s an investment to keep the town up,” said Commissioner Andrew French.

The board of commissioners adopted a resolution to support National Night Out, sponsored by National Association of Town Watch and Target. The event is a nationwide crime, drug and violence prevention program that will be held on Aug. 4 beside the Squeeze Box (Willard and Wilmoth Sandwich Shoppe) on Main Street from 6 to 9 p.m. It will be the 26th annual National Night Out, and it is intended to allow Pilot Mountain and the surrounding areas to join forces with thousands of other communities across the nation to promote cooperative, police-community crime prevention efforts.

“We’ve done this every year, and it’s a great event,” said Mayor Earl Sheppard.

Town Manager Blair Knox told the commissioners that bids for the renovations to the Pilot Center, a satellite campus for Surry Community College, were out. The learning center is one of two in Surry County, the other in Elkin, that will be tailored specifically to the needs of the community.

In May, the Golden LEAF Foundation awarded the Golden LEAF Community Assistance Initiative Grants, totaling $800,000, to Surry Community College to assist it with the establishment of Centers for Learning, Education and Retraining in Pilot Mountain and Elkin to help address increasing unemployment and local educational access. The grant was among $2.06 million in grant money that the foundation awarded for projects in Surry County.

The 70,000-square-foot former Amos and Smith building at 612 E. Main St. will be the new home of the learning center in Pilot Mountain, which officials have named the Pilot Center. Knox said the town will be applying for $379,000 in grants through Golden LEAF for additional items needed for the Pilot Center.

According to the town’s 2009-2010 budget report, the Pilot Center’s budget is $71,800, which includes $34,700 for contracted services, $22,800 for utilities, $6,000 for insurance and $8,300 for debt service.

Around 1,200 students are expected to enroll at the Pilot Center once it opens early next year.

The commissioners recessed their town meeting Monday until Thursday at 6 p.m. when they will hold a water and sewer workshop presented by members of the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The meeting is open to the public and will be held in the downstairs meeting room of town hall.

Contact Erin C. Perkins at eperkins@mtairynews.com or 719-1952.