City to clean ditch, residents want more

By By Fredie Carmichael / staff writer
June 5, 2002
A group of Meridian residents told city council members Tuesday that Meridian needs to do more than just clean a drainage ditch behind their homes.
The residents complained that the ditch, off 41st Avenue between 24th and 26th streets, is eroding, is dirty and reeks of raw sewage.
City council members voted Tuesday to clean the ditch between 24th and 26th streets. But the residents said the problem is bigger than that small area.
Linda Riley told the council that the ditch was eroding and threatening her in-ground swimming pool.
Ward 3 Councilman Barbara Henson, whose district includes part of the ditch, said the city can't do much because the natural ditch is on private property.
Henson told the residents she would continue to work with city attorney Bill Hammack and try to find a way for residents to fix the ditch.