Columbus discusses flooding issues on northside
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Hockey great Wayne Gretzky famously said, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take”.
If one Columbus City Councilman had had his way, the city would have missed a shot at a grant to address decades-long flooding issues on the city’s northside.
For the second time this month, the council was considering whether or not to accept an Army Corps of Engineers grant for stormwater channel improvements.
The work would include cleaning out a ditch that runs alongside Columbus Brick and building a detention pond that would catch water that floods areas along 21st through 23rd Streets North and 23rd Avenue North.
The city’s match on the grant would be $1 million.
In earlier discussions, questions were raised about where the money would come from.
Two sources were identified, the Internet Use Tax money and the city’s cash reserves.
Ward 5 Councilman Stephen Jones commented that the match might take away from paving money. Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens protested that with the grant timeline of up to 18 months, this council could possibly leave a new administration with the cost.
Mayor Keith Gaskin countered, saying the problem has already been passed along by several administrations
“The city has known since the 1970s that we have major flooding issues in the city. I think it’s important for us to remember that when the streets flood, and water sits on them, it causes potholes and other things that we deal with. So, we really, I think, need to take a serious look when we have opportunities like this, ‘is it in the best interest, and the best use of the money that we have’ that is required to use in a lot of different areas to fix these drainage issues, which in turn, will help with the quality of the streets. But, most importantly, a lot of these areas are in under-served areas of our community,” said Gaskin.
The measure passed five to one with Mickens casting the lone “No” vote.
The city won’t have to come up with the matching money until it is awarded the grant, leaving time for the match to be figured into the next budget.
