Council delays adoption of street paving list
By By Fredie Carmichael / staff writer
Dec. 3, 2003
Meridian City Councilmen Tuesday delayed the adoption of a specific list of streets to be repaired using a $6 million loan that has been sitting in a bank account since August.
Meridian is obligated to pay 3.76 percent interest at taxpayer expense on the loan. The money is in an interest-bearing account, where it is earning about 1 percent interest.
City Council President Barbara Henson, who represents Ward 3, said councilmen did not adopt the list Tuesday because a final dollar amount had not been calculated at the time of the meeting. Henson said the council should adopt the list at its next regular meeting later this month, and work could begin in early spring.
Meridian City Council members voted in March to borrow the money for paving and repairing city streets. The money, however, can be used for almost any project and doesn't have to be limited to streets until a list of specific streets is approved.
Mayor John Robert Smith initiated the project in November 2002 and proposed that the city borrow the money to pave and repair streets.
The city council later announced its intention to borrow $5 million. In February, councilmen upped the ante to $6 million saying the additional money was needed to make the necessary repairs.
In January, city officials began compiling a preliminary list of streets that would be improved. Councilmen were given the list so they could review work done in their wards.
The mayor said city officials received a copy of the council's ward-specific streets last week.
Nasty mMess
A sewer line Meridian extended to Naval Air Station Meridian has developed problems. After two weeks on-line, several leaks were reported in the line last week and raw sewage spewed from the pipes in northeast Lauderdale County along Cotton Gin Road.
Public Works Director Monty Jackson said city crews worked Thanksgiving Day and the day after to repair the leaks. "They're fixed now," he said. "Right now we're in the process of running some tests to see if it's anything that's residual in the stream."
