The mayor of Sibley, Jimmy Williams, is excited about the new housing development that the Town of Sibley is creating on 160 acres near Calloway Corners.
“We have bought some land, and we’re starting a subdivision,” said Mayor Williams. ‘We’re hoping everything gets going by April. Right now, it looks like we’re going to have 21 lots. We’re going to see how that goes, and then we can expand it. I’m really excited about that because we don’t have a lot of places where people can build; we’re kind of landlocked. This gives us an opportunity to expand Sibley. Of course, there will be people who’re not excited, but my philosophy is, either you’re growing or you’re dying.”
At this time, the town plans to just sell lots and let the homeowners choose their builders. The planned lot sizes will be around ¼ to ½ acre.
“The town will be selling lots, that’s all we’re going to do. There are some developers that are interested in it but, right now, we’re going to develop these and see what happens,” said Mayor Williams.
“We’ve had a lot of people calling wanting to know when it’s going to open and how much it’s going to be. We haven’t determined that yet, but it’s going to be cheaper than what they’re doing over in Haughton. We’re not trying to make money on it, we just want people to come in. I’m very excited about that.”
The project is in its preliminary stages with surveyors working to create a topographical map of the area but, weather permitting, they hope to start selling lots by spring or early summer.
Another big project that Sibley has in the works is a major water system overhaul including consolidating with Saltworks Water System which is located just south of Sibley.
“We got a $5 million grant to redo our water system,” Williams said. “We’ll be taking on Saltworks Water System. It’s going to be completely redone. We’re putting in green sand filters to take the minerals out of the water, drilling a new well. It’s really going to help our water system. We’ve got a lot going on.
“The one we’re taking on [Saltworks] is going to be completely redone. All new pipes, everything. So it’ll be brand new.”
The municipality was required to take on another water system to qualify for the grant under the Water Sector Program. This helps to consolidate water systems so that grant-money improvements cover a larger area. There are many small water systems in Webster Parish that are in dire need of improvements.
“Hopefully we’ll get started on that pretty soon,” said Williams. “And we’ll just continue to try to clean up town.”