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Two groups working to solve Lowndes County’s wastewater disparities are seeking legal counsel to resolve questions over access to program funding.

In a media release, Carmelita Arnold, president of the Lowndes County Unincorporated Wastewater Program (LCUWP) board, shared an Aug 2 email asking County Attorney Prince Chestnut to recover nearly $500,000 in funds she said were originally donated to the program between 2019 and 2020 and taken from LCUWP in 2021.

Arnold alleges the money was donated as part of the 25% matching funds needed for a nearly $3 million U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant. The funds would have paid for a 100-home LCUWP pilot program aimed at getting septic systems in the ground for Lowndes County residents. 

Arnold reports that then-Board President Perman Hardy and Sherry Bradley moved the money to newly formed Black Belt Unincorporated Wastewater Program (BBUWP) bank accounts. Since then, Arnold said the LCUWP board has not received any information about what the money has been used for since the transfer.

Bradley began working on the project known as LCUWP in 2018 during her tenure as director for the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) Bureau of Environmental Services. She received the green light from the State Health Officer to assist Lowndes County in creating a program to make reliable and affordable septic systems a reality for area residents and was granted permission to use ADPH funds to support the project.

According to Bradley, funds raised were collected for the project, not for the county commission or a sewer board. 

“The LCUWP name was created by me, and not voted on by the commissioners,” Bradley said. “This was a project that I took on to help the people get a septic tank system.”

Bradley said the donated funds were moved to after disagreements over appointing members caused her to walk away from County efforts. Bradley said Charlie King, Jr. and Robert Harris claimed the board had not been formed properly and the two elected to form a new board rather than correct the problem.

Hardy, it seems, had not been officially appointed to the board even though she had worked diligently toward setting up the project and grant paperwork was submitted under her name as president. Bradley said Hardy was vital to the program moving forward and chose to move the project and the funding to BBUWP so that work could continue as planned.

“What took me three years to form, Charlie did away with in one minute,” Bradley said. ““I asked the commission to keep the board intact so that funds could fall as planned, but Charlie said, ‘No.’ I walked away and immediately started work on rebranding all materials and I named the current entity the BBUWP because I was told that Charlie stated, ‘Any money received by an organization with the word Lowndes in it belongs to the County.’”

Kings said as a newly elected commissioner, he was tasked with appointing the right person to represent his district.

“When I was elected, they wanted me to appoint Ms. Hardy to the board,” King said. “My position was to appoint whoever I deemed necessary in my district, and I chose Ms. (Carmelita) Arnold to serve as board member.

“The board was already there. They just needed one more member and [Bradley] wanted Ms. Hardy but based on reasons that I know and don’t care to share; I didn’t think she was a good person for the board. We wanted someone who can be firm, professional, articulate and able to write grants and keep good documents.” 

Deborah Stewart with Avalon Consulting, worked with Bradley under LCUWP. 

“What happened to the nearly $500,000 that was donated to LCUWP,” Stewart asked. “I believe that Carmelita has written to the Ethics Committee and the State Attorney General’s Office, and she has basically exhausted all avenues for recovering the money.”

Bradley said that since its launch in 2021, BBUWP has installed 114 septic systems in Lowndes County, with 100 more planned in the coming months. While Arnold, King and Harris have claimed impropriety on Bradley’s part, she maintains that she has worked for the good of area residents.

“I have been informed by reliable sources that Charlie King, Jr. has stated I was fired from my job, I embezzled money from my job at the State and I left in disgrace,” Bradley said. “Robert Harris has constantly referred to me, without calling my name, in the commissioners’ meeting about funding that was taken. Deborah Stewart with Avalon Consultants… gave Carmelita some LCUWP information that I created. Carmelita makes reports to the Commission without knowing all the facts. She has constantly presented misinformation to the Commission, pulling old bank records and saying I moved the funds as if I were spending the funds. I worked for ADPH for 45 years and was the State employee of the year before I retired. The DOJ (Department of Justice) interviewed me and found no wrongdoing. We are a private business, and we don’t report to the LCUWP. It’s time for this to stop.”

Attorney Michael Strickland issued a statement on behalf of Bradley, which reads in part:

“Sherry Bradley created the LCUWP project and later created BBUWP project when certain individuals told [her] that she could not use the name ‘Lowndes County’ within her project name. The money that was given to Ms. Bradley for her project was State money for installing free septic tank systems to those individuals that qualify. State money was transferred from LCUWP to BBUWP to install septic tanks for the same individuals that qualify.

“Certain political as well as private individuals began asking ‘What’s in it for me?’ in relation to the LCUWP project. These individuals wanted to take over when Sherry told them, ‘Nothing is in it for you.’ Politics became involved in changing the Board of the LCUWP when Sherry did not ‘play ball,’ thus the necessity to change from LCUWP and create BBUWP. That same State money which had been given to Ms. Bradley was transferred to the BBUWP for the installation of the septic systems instead of leaving it under the LCUWP where the pockets of said political and/or private individuals could have been lined.

“BBUWP does not owe money to the County, via LCUWP or otherwise. That is a completely false allegation. The County can raise their own money for their septic tank project.”

Bradley said BBUWP is committed to continuing the work of getting septic systems in the ground for the people of Lowndes County.

“I was there in the beginning representing the State Department of Health, not the County Commission,” Bradley said. “I was a State employee with State money. The majority of the money came from our agency.

“Sewage was on the ground in Lowndes County for 20 years. The whole time, nobody donated anything. When I joined the effort, they donated money because they knew me and trusted me.”