WOODVILLE &045; A multi-purpose center is fast becoming a reality in Woodville, thanks to a $131,750 grant the town has received through the Delta Regional Authority.

The grant will require $10,000 in local matching funds, according to information released Tuesday by U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering’s office.

On Wednesday, Woodville Mayor Gary D’Aquila welcomed the announcement, but said there is still a lot of planning for city officials to do.

&uot;We still have not decided on a location or a design for the building.

We will discuss it more at our next board meeting,&uot; he said.

The town received nearly all of the $135,000 it initially applied for to build the center, which officials have said will house the police department and municipal court, as well as other town offices and meeting rooms.

The grant is Woodville’s share of $4.1 million in funding that towns and counties applied for last summer through the DRA, a federal-state partnership serving economically distressed areas in eight states from Illinois to Louisiana.

Forty-five Mississippi counties and their municipalities were eligible to apply for the funding.

Priority was given to applications for funding to improve infrastructure, business and job training.

&uot;I saw it (the DRA funding) mentioned in the paper.

I started working with my grant writer, and this is where we are now,&uot; said D’Aquila.

Former State Auditor Pete Johnson is federal co-chairman of the DRA, which is headquartered in Clarksdale.

Johnson, appointed by President Bush, works with governors and their representatives from each state.

DRA grants require Johnson’s approval and the vote of a majority of the member states.