As cities and communities grow, the need to upgrade and improve infrastructure is at the forefront.

Many of those towns and even counties don’t have the financial resources to make it easier for their residents to drive to church, school or shopping.

But, U.S. Rep. Dale Strong said the money is out there.

“We have grants available,” Strong (R-Huntsville) said Monday at the North Alabama Transportation Summit hosted by Launch Regional Partnership. “If your city or county doesn’t apply, I can’t bring it home.”

The summit at the Marriott featured a “fireside chat” between Strong and Launch board member John Allen; a lunch talk with ALDOT Director John Cooper; and breakout sessions on logistics and freight; transit and passenger rail; trails, greenways and blueways; aviation; maritime transportation; and tourism and transportation.

Launch is a 501(c)(3) non-profit helping strengthen the North Alabama region through entrepreneurship, land use, and workforce initiatives. Created in 2014, the organization is united by the belief that the region’s prosperity depends on North Alabama counties working and planning together, committed to fostering regional economic growth and an enviable quality of life for its residents.

Strong said there is likely a lot of paperwork and time in the application process and it could help to designate people to solely work on the grants or hire someone.

But they need to stick with it and finish the applications.

“I want to encourage each of you to apply,” Strong said. “Don’t give up on applying for the grants … we’ve got to do everything we can to bring that money back.”

Strong urged the communities to communicate with him for their financial needs. He cited a recent visit to Section and Dutton in response to a request from local officials about water needs.

“They said they never reached out to their congressman before,” he said. “A couple weeks later, I was there in jeans and boots.”

A member of the House Appropriations Committee, Strong was able to secure $1 million for the Waterworks Board of Section and Dutton to upgrade its water treatment infrastructure.

“I’m an appropriations guy,” he said. “We approved all 12 appropriation bills in the House … we brought $9.5 million in water projects (across the region).”

Strong also said cooperation among cities, counties and people is key to improving the quality of life in the 13-county Launch region.

“We need to create relationships to get money,” he said. “Our state representatives need to create relationships in Montgomery.

“When the money leaves DC, it’s out of my hands.”

Strong said cooperation and relationships extend even across state lines, particularly locally, where hundreds of Tennessee residents commute to Huntsville to work.

“We need to be sure that our traffic is taken care of,” he said. “We are the leading employer in two counties in Tennessee. (Rep.) Chuck Fleischmann is our eighth congressman.”

In closing, Strong summed up building relationships with a simple remark: “You’ve got to learn to play in the sandbox with others.”