Jackson’s one-percent oversight commission could begin talks next month on how it plans to fund the city’s numerous drainage needs.
Recently, heavy rains caused severe flash flooding across the Northside. Much of the flooding was a result of the city’s aged, overburdened drainage systems.
On July 10, several streets in Belhaven were inundated by flood waters when a brief deluge caused Belhaven Creek to jump its banks. The same storm caused flash flooding in Fondren and Midtown.
Drainage problems have also shuttered the Charles Tisdale Library on Northside Drive.
At its meeting last week, commission members asked public works to provide an update on the drainage projects included in the first-year master plan.
Public Works Director Jerriot Smash told the board his department would provide an update in August.
Once officials are given an update, they can determine how to fund the projects.
Mayor Chokwe Lumumba told the Sun recently that he would like to leverage funds to make the improvements. However, he was not sure if he wanted to follow through on a proposal from the previous mayor to take out a line of credit.
“I am sure I want to leverage the funding, but the mechanism we use is up for debate,” he said. “I’m listening to … a couple of experts on the issue to identify the best process.”
Former Mayor Tony Yarber had proposed using infrastructure monies to take out a $90 million line of credit through the Mississippi Development Bank. That amount was later reduced to $80 million, and at a meeting in July, Robbi Jones, with Kipling Jones, the city’s financial advisor, recommended Jackson only issue up to a $50 million line of credit.
Commissioners Pete Perry and Duane O’Neill, the commission co-chair, support leveraging bonds, but still have more questions. “I would like to see us do it, but the question is how much will we leverage, and we haven’t gotten to that point yet,” O’Neill said.
The commission could fund the projects with existing funds, but would have little money for other work. To date, the infrastructure sales tax has generated approximately $46.2 million, according to state Department of Revenue figures. Of that, only about $10 million to $12 million is unincumbered, Perry recalled.
The commission’s first-year master plan included funding for design work for six drainage improvement projects. Contracts for all six projects have been awarded, to the tune of $1.9 million. The plan also included early estimates for the work, which total $7.8 million. However, projections in the first-year plan have been historically unreliable. For instance, earlier this year, oversight members learned several items were no longer funded, because monies had been moved to cover cost overruns on other projects.
Perry said the commission likely won’t make a decision on how to fund the projects until it gets an update from the city. “I don’t know where we are in the process,” he said. “I also don’t know what kind of easements and rights-of-way will be needed. A lot of these creeks are behind people’s homes.”
The plan was approved in 2015 and included funding for the design of six drainage improvement projects, including for sections of Eubanks Creek and Belhaven Creek on the Northside.
Last fall, the city brought on Southern Consultants to draw up plans for Belhaven Creek. The contract, which was for approximately $225,000, included designing a project for a section of the creek running from Woodrow Wilson Avenue to Laurel Street, as well as plans for a secondary tributary that runs from just north of Riverside Drive to St. Mary and Piedmont streets, where it empties into Belhaven.
According to Ward Seven Councilwoman Virgi Lindsay, the design work for those creeks had been completed.
Another firm, Stantec Consulting Services was awarded a $387,000 contract to engineer a project for the section of Eubanks Creek running from North State Street to Eagle Avenue. And SOL Engineering was awarded a $202,000 contract to design improvements for Eubanks from Forest Avenue to Northside Drive.
It was not known if SOL and Stantec had completed their designs at press time.
The first-year plan also included funding to repair a portion of Smith Creek in South Jackson. and to bring on a consultant to draw up a citywide storm water management plan.
Wilco, Inc., received $714,000 for the Smith Creek work in June, and Allen Engineering and Science was brought for $374,000 for the consulting work in January.
Contracts are bid out and awarded by the city. The commission can only allocate funding for the work, based on state statute.
The commission meets on the second Wednesday of the month, on the first floor of the Warren Hood Building in downtown Jackson.
