$7.5M bond issued by flood control district

Clark County

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August 11, 2012

$7.5M bond issued by flood control district

Clarksville gets its wish for flooding mitigation study

By BRADEN LAMMERS braden.lammers@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Sat Aug 11, 2012, 08:01 AM EDT

JEFFERSONVILLE — Before it issued a bond for more than $7 million, the Jeffersonville-Clarksville Flood Control District board agreed to take another look at its proposed project.

A special meeting was called Friday for the Jeffersonville-Clarksville Flood Control District to discuss replacing a pump station for Cane Run. At the meeting, the board alleviated Clarksville’s concerns about flooding mitigation by agreeing to complete a full study before a final design of the pump station is approved.

The full study is expected to cost between $100,000 and $150,000, said Brittany Montgomery, Clarksville project coordinator.

Cane Run is not the only project the flood control district plans on undertaking in Clarksville, but it was deemed the priority project. The other project is a pump station that would need to be replaced at Mill Creek.

“The flood control district has been talking about a need to upgrade and replace those pumps since the 1960s,” said Jeffersonville Corporation Attorney Tom Lowe. “I think the heavy rains over the last couple of years have certainly kind of brought the issue to the forefront.”

He added that the project was actually started last year and annual bond limits prohibited the flood control district from moving forward on both projects.

“The plan all along had been to bond for one of them with the plan to construct that project in 2013,” Lowe said. “In order to start construction in 2013, we need to get the bonding done now. This is really about as late as we can go.”

To move forward on a bond, which would be issued next year, the board agreed to wait for final approval of the project’s design until the watershed study was completed and agreed to allow for cleanup of detention basins and the watershed studies be included in the bond amount.

The additions added $500,000 to the bond amount. Following the changes, the board approved a resolution — 2012-R-1 — to advertise for a bond for the project, not to exceed $7.5 million.

The bond will be paid back by a special benefits tax for property owners in the flood control district. Bond Counsel Jim Gutting said a public hearing on the bond will be held Aug. 31 during the board’s regularly scheduled meeting.

CLARKSVILLE CONCERNS

Clarksville town council had held an executive session because it was concerned about the construction plans for Cane Run and insisted on the study for the flood control area.

“Our big concern would be that the watershed study be completed before the final design,” said Montgomery.

The town had already commissioned a preliminary study by Santec for about $50,000, but wanted to see a more in-depth investigation to ensure the pumps would be big enough to mitigate flooding.

In addition, the town council sent a letter to the flood control district that read, in part, “the town feels that by moving forward with the proposed design at Cane Run, the commission is not adequately addressing the flooding concerns of the town, its businesses and residents.”