Bonita dam problems perplex supervisors

By By Steve Gillespie / staff writer
March 5, 2004
Lauderdale County supervisors voted Thursday to seek details from Meridian Mayor John Robert Smith on what plans the city may have to fix a dam at Bonita Lakes.
District 5 Supervisor Ray Boswell said the lower lake has been partially drained for at least two years, leaving what he called one of the most beautiful sights in the city in a "terrible state."
Boswell's motion to send a letter asking for an update on the status of lower lake repairs carried 3-0 as Boswell, District 1 Supervisor Eddie Harper and District 3 Supervisor Craig Hitt voted affirmatively. District 4 Supervisor Joe Norwood and District 2 Supervisor Jimmie Smith were reported out of town.
Late last year the Meridian city council voted to borrow up to $2.9 million for repairs to water and sewer and the Bonita Lakes dam.
The lower lake is overgrown with weeds Boswell described as "head high." The area was drained to find a leak that had been discovered during a routine check by the state Department of Environmental Quality.
The city originally planned to use a $500,000 federal grant to help repair the dam, but the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said there was greater need to use the money for repairs to Gallagher Creek, a drainage canal with ongoing erosion problems.
Monty Jackson, Meridian public works director, said Thursday that the city also submitted an application recently for a grant from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to fix the dam that would pay 75 percent of the cost of repairs and would require a 25 percent match.
Jackson said the city will not find out if it will get the grant until April. Estimates to repair the dam are about $400,000.
Supervisors also voted to designate a committee to make arrangements for the city to take over control of the Q.V. Sykes Sports Complex.
Neal Carson, Lauderdale County engineer, said some paving will still have to be done at the complex by the county, but, he said his crews may not be able to do the work until April.
County officials want the city to take over the ownership and responsibility of the complex. Rex Hiatt, Lauderdale County administrator, told supervisors the county has received a power bill for more than $1,300 for the complex, which is being used by Meridian High School.