LUMBERTON — City leaders on Wednesday took steps toward mitigating flooding in and around The Oaks subdivision.
Meeting as the Council Policy Committee, council members approved moving forward with a hydraulic study in The Oaks and plans to replace a culvert beneath the CSX railroad tracks at the Fivemile Branch just north of The Oaks.
All actions taken during the CPC meeting must be given a second reading and voted on again during Monday’s City Council meeting.
“Flash flooding on Oak Ridge Boulevard and White Oak Drive during intense, non-hurricane related rain events have been an ongoing problem for several years,” said Rob Armstrong, Public Works director.
The study would provide information that can lead to improvements to existing drainage infrastructure with the goal of easing or preventing flooding from seasonal heavy rains and two-year to 10-year storms, he said. But no upgrades can prevent flooding from storms such as hurricanes Matthew and Florence.
“You’ll never, ever prevent that,” Armstrong said.
The company selected to conduct the study would be given the authorization to proceed by Feb. 1. No cost estimate for the project was given on Wednesday. But, it would be paid for using the Public Works Department’s Drainage Fund.
The fund also would be used to pay for a hydraulic study and development of plans to replace a culvert beneath the railroad tracks at Fivemile Branch, near The Oaks, Armstrong said. This culvert has been determined to be too small to properly handle floodwaters, which sometimes cover White Oak Drive.
“The railroad seems to be acknowledging there have been problems with this culvert,” Armstrong said.
The study and the replacement work will be coordinated with CSX, he said. Work also will be coordinated with the N.C. Department of Transportation with the goal of the Fivemile Branch project and work to replace a culvert beneath the tracks along Linkhaw Road closes the tracks during only one period of time.
The council members tabled a conditional-use permit request that would clear the way for the construction of a 155-foot-tall cell tower on property off Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Councilman John Cantey made the motion to table the request until Monday’s City Council. The councilman said he wanted time to talk to residents near the tower site in order to learn how they might feel about having the tower near their homes.
Also on Wednesday, the council members approved a resolution regarding taxes.
“Generally, with regard to tax matters such as valuation, listing and so forth, the city adopts the findings of the county,“ City Attorney Holt Moore said. “It has become apparent that in one area we have not taken the necessary steps to take this same approach. That is in the area of compromises requested on discovered property.”
Discovered property is property that has not properly been listed on the tax rolls, sometimes going back several years, he said.
“Staff believes that in the interest of consistency, these items should be handled by the county as well, but a resolution is needed for this to happen and the city has not done this yet,” Moore said.
The council members also gave first approval to a $66,570.50 revised change order for Prism Contractors for the Lambeth Street sewer rehabilitation project.
The change addresses the necessity of replacing and repairing pipes smaller than previously believed and the removal of segments of pipes that had been lined in the past, Armstrong said. The change order will be paid for using North Carolina Clean Water State Revolving Loan funds.
In other business, the council members approved:
— A request from Inspections Director Ben Andrews to be allowed to proceed with the demolition and removal of unsafe structures at 64 Carolina Ave., 2485 E. Fifth St. and 3052 Westminster Road.
— A request from Andrews to be allowed to proceed with the demolition and removal of the damaged portion of a structure at 123 W. Fourth St.
— Allowing Councilman Owen Thomas to give $500 of his Community Revitalization Fund money to the Mayfair Home Owners’ Association. They money will be used to beautify the subdivision’s entrances.
