Lexington, KY - The spring rains created a lot of problems for people in the 5th district. As you already know, decades of neglect to our stormwater and sewer systems causes flooding, sewer backups and a lot of headaches for many people. As the city moves forward in its effort to comprehensively address this enormous problem, there is a great deal of frustration from those who watch the water rise in their basements.
Rain events like the May 2 flooding can create an unmanageable load on city resources. Over 500 calls related to the storm were received. At this time, the city simply does not regularly employ or maintain a staffing level that can handle that volume of calls. Most of the calls received were to pump a flooded basement. For a 1,800 square foot ranch home with a basement containing 6 inches of water, that's 6,750 gallons. Often, accessibility to a basement is limited however, meaning small pumps must be used. Even with a relatively large capacity pump (50 gallons a minute), that's over two hours of pumping per constituent call.
At the same time, I absolutely understand the frustration of having to wait for a cleanup or pump crew to arrive when water is rising in your home. It's not a situation anyone wants. We must do better. The Water Resources Committee, of which I am a member, met on May 25 to create a new policy for dealing with immediate needs in a more timely manner. Watch for updates.
The entire council is in the process of reviewing the mayor's proposed budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. As you are probably aware, the city's revenues have been seriously impacted by the national economic climate, and we've experienced unprecedented losses in revenues. While we hope for upward movement, we're faced with very difficult decisions in the next budget.
Resurfacing budgets were recently given to the council along with a listing of the streets ranking 65 and below, which indicates the priority of maintenance need. As this was the first complete resurfacing process I was involved in as your councilmember, I was astonished at the enormous disparity in need versus funding available. In response to many constituents who frequently contact our office about their streets, I supported a motion to sell $3 million in bonds to augment the resurfacing budget this summer. Unfortunately the motion did not pass. While we have the list, it cannot be released until bids come back from the contractors.
On a good note, the Vintage Kentucky: Toast to Henry Clay wine festival I've been telling you about was officially announced at a press conference at the Ashland Estate in late May. Be sure to read more about this event in this and future issues of the magazine.
Lastly, I am excited to announce Palmer Engineering (with M2D and Hall-Harmon Engineers as sub-contractors) has been selected for preliminary design work on the Chevy Chase Re-Design and Beautification Project. Palmer will be coordinating two public meetings in the very near future. While Steve Austin's designs based on our previous public meetings provide the general concept we hope to accomplish in the area, Palmer will provide the details needed to submit our grant application. The public meetings are very important, and I hope you will participate as we take this next step in designing a plan to capitalize on the unique charm and history for this area.
Please don't forget to mark your calendars to attend our next District 5 meeting from 5 - 7 p.m., Monday, Aug. 23 at Immanuel Baptist Church in the reception hall. Hope to see you there.