Priceville Council hears complaint about drainage
Priceville Town Council heard a complaint about a drainage problem at its regular meeting Tuesday night, but 30 minutes of conversation with the complainant, Linda Hill, failed to reach a solution.
“Every time it rains my driveway is covered with mud,” Hill said. “and it ends up in my garage. I’ve been living at 156 Cove Creek Drive for 10 years and I never had the problem until my neighbor built a driveway and opened a drainage ditch that leads to my property. I’m here to ask you what can be done about it?
Councilman Donald Livingston responded, “We’ve cleaned it up twice; I don’t know what else we can do.”
“I’ve been told when they cut my driveway over the drainage ditch they left a crack, Hill said. “When it rains muddy water bubbles up through the crack and leaves mud on my driveway. It also has caused the concrete to break loose and leave chips. It won’t be long until my driveway is pitiful.”
Livingston explained that the crack serves as an expansion joint and is needed to give the driveway room to expand when exposed to cold temperatures.
He also pointed out that the adjoining property owner was asked to put riprap in the drainage ditch alongside her driveway and complied with the request. But he agreed that didn’t solve the problem.
“The driveway is outside of the city limits and we have no jurisdiction,” Livingston pointed out.
Mayor Melvin Duran agreed with Livingston.
“Water is going to come down the mountain when it rains,” Duran said. “We recognized the likelihood of a problem occurring when the driveway was built, but there was nothing we could do about it. If that property is ever subdivided and developed and is annexed, curb and gutters would be a requirement.”
When Hill turned to town engineer Sonny Wright with the question, “Can’t you do something?” He suggested the placement of a silt fence at foot of the drainage ditch and added that sod might help.
The mayor and council agreed to ask the owner of the driveway to install a silt fence on the drainage ditch.
The governing body acted on other matters as follows:
• Approved a $1,667.88 appropriation to Priceville Junior High School. The money comes from budgeted funds and will be used to purchase Voyager reading and math intervention kits for at risk students.
• Approved a contract for $1,850 with Natchez Trace to perform at the 2012 Cruise In at Veterans Park.
• Approved payment of $300 to the Walking Horse Association of Alabama for a preliminary class sponsorship at the Alabama Jubilee Charity Horse Show Oct. 21-22.
• Approved payment of current bills totaling $18,560.78.
• Approved the purchase of rip rap (rock) not to exceed $1,500 for use on a drainage project at Cave Springs Cove Subdivision.
• Approved Jacob Lee Livingston for Workers’ Compensation coverage to allow him to ride with a police patrolman as a participant in the Police Reserve Program.
• Approved a $250 donation to the Priceville High School Robotics Team at the request of the team’s CEO, Savanna Earnest.
• Authorized payment of expenses for Duran and Councilman Tommy Perry to attend an Alabama League of Municipalities Executive Committee meeting in Montgomery Oct. 19 and the Mayor to attend another League meeting in Montgomery on Nov. 3.
Councilman and fire chief Charles Black announced the promotion of five fire fighters from captain to battalion chiefs. They are Melvin Duran III, Larry Waddell, Brandon Hawkins, Bruce Stephenson and Allen Reed.
He also announced the approval of a $4,000 grant from the Department of Interior for wildland fire prevention.
