7. Write a News Story for a Wednesday Edition Based on the Following Information, Which
7. Write a news story for a Wednesday edition based on the following information, which is from an article in The Gleaner in Henderson, Ky.
A public hearing was held Tuesday night to consider a $24.6 million stormwater management plan prepared by an engineering consultant.
Several members of the audience questioned parts of the plan presented by Zack Fuller of Proctor-Davis-Ray Engineers. But no outright opposition surfaced.
The mayor and several commissioners spoke and said that they are convinced that some action is needed to prevent damage and inconvenience caused by periodic flooding in several sections of the city.
The city officials promised at the public hearing to explore every possibility to minimize the financial impact of any plan. The officials said that citizens will be given ample opportunity to voice their views.
Mayor William Newman told the 20 persons who attended the session: “We’re not naive enough to believe we can do all of these things.”
Cost figures discussed at the public hearing were somewhat lower than those discussed at a Monday night work session, apparently because they were more precise.
Retiree Paul Gorby criticized Fuller for presenting three potential methods for financing. He said: “It looks to me like the committee did away with the other two methods” in favor of a general revenue bond issue.
Gorby, who lives in Balmoral, asked if the public would be given additional opportunities to speak out on the issue. Mayor Newman said: “I imagine several times.”
Newman said that written comments received by the Stormwater Management Citizens Advisory Committee prior to its next meeting in about 30 days would be considered along with opinions recorded at Tuesday night’s meeting.
Gorby was also quoted as saying: “A project like this is for the future of the community.”
After noting that his Henderson utility cost is “the cheapest … I’ve ever run across,” he said: “I would gladly pay 79 cents to get Fourth Street fixed.”
Gorby was referring to the monthly additional charge engineers estimate the city’s 10,000 water-sewer customers would have to pay to finance a project that would eliminate the persistent flooding problem at Fourth and Green streets.
Fuller explained his company’s assessment of stormwater management needs in 11 “problem areas” of the city. He said that a formal report in which priority areas will be recommended will be issued “in late February.”
The city included estimated costs of providing a drainage network in the problem areas and of diverting the water to either Canoe Creek or the Ohio River.
Mayor Newman said that the engineers’ report will be turned over to the citizens committee so that the committee can formulate recommendations to the city commission. Newman said that the study was undertaken after floodwaters severely damaged several local industries.
Newman said that damage figures from flooding of the past two years have not been compiled. He was quoted: “Kusan and Gamco suffered a lot of damage” last year, and Artfaire sustained “a half million dollar loss in a single flood.”
He was further quoted:
“I don’t know what the committee will recommend. They could say that maybe it’s not worth the investment.” But “before any action would be taken I think we would have another public hearing on financing.”
Three commissioners—Allen Kenney, Bill Brown and Claud Hays—were quoted.
Kenney said that he believed most of his constituents “would like to have the problem studied and, if possible, fixed. I doubt if we could do it all at once, but maybe we could do it piecemeal [and] … avoid large charges for anyone.”
Brown said that he would prefer to wait for completion of the U.S. Corps of Engineers project to channelize the North Fork of Canoe Creek. “I think they said 85 percent of the flooding on Canoe Creek would be eliminated. We ought to try to do something about the problem.” Brown added that the city might be able to fund a project from its general fund. “It might not cost the taxpayer nearly as much” as the Proctor-Davis-Ray plan, he said.
Hays said that the stormwater problem has existed for many years, but he said that current city officials “instead of throwing up our hands started a study to see what was needed and how much it would cost. We’re not trying to force a $10 or $30 charge down anybody’s throat.”
Additional questions and comments came from others in the audience.
Don Crabtree, for example, noted that at current erosion rates a proposed 128-acre lake would be filled with silt in “slightly more than eight years.” Fuller said that problem would fall under maintenance, which would be addressed in the design phase of the project.
Don Williams asked if the plan was designed to prevent primarily damage or inconvenience, and questioned whether insurance might provide a less expensive alternative. Fuller said that insurance is not available for buildings in a flood plain.
Charles Rettig wanted to know if only the residents included in the project area would be required to pay for the improvements. Fuller said that how the cost would be calculated could be determined on several bases. But he said that generally “it is felt that … everybody benefits, so everybody pays.”
Eugene Gilbert criticized annexation of areas that require installation of costly city utilities. “If they build houses in the low areas, they should know they’re going to have water problems,” he said. “People in the affected areas should have to pay—not the taxpayers.”