Flooding at City Hall to be addressed
Published 12:00 pm Thursday, April 18, 2013
Two rain events over the past week caused some minor flooding at the addition to Picayune’s historic City Hall on Goodyear Boulevard.
City engineers and the public works department addressed ideas on why the water entered the building and on ways the issue can be resolved at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
The rain events, on Thursday and early Sunday, caused some minor flooding in two areas of the building. Public Works Director Eric Morris said water entered near the front door facing Quince Street and the door that connects the historic side of the building to the addition.
Flooding was minor during Thursday’s rain event, Morris said. The water soaked a 20 square-foot portion of carpet that left it “no worse for wear,” he said. Water also entered the building during Sunday’s rain event, but the amount was less than that on Thursday, Morris said.
A check of the drains in the area found no blockages near the building, but Morris said city employees did find a 50- to 75-percent blockage at the Millcreek drainage system near Beech Street, which is where water goes that is drained from the area around City Hall. Morris said the Millcreek blockage could have contributed to the slow drainage during the heavy rains.
However, City Engineer Brooks Wallace said the problem also appears to be an issue with the way the Architect firm, Landry and Lewis, had to construct the building to meet the Americans With Disabilities Act standards when linking the old building with the addition. Wallace said there is a slope between the two buildings, and to make the slope any steeper would have prevented the building from meeting ADA standards.
Wallace said three issues were found that contributed to the flooding. One involved the curb where the clock donated by the Picayune Rotary Club was installed, which prevents water from draining down Quince Street as it should. To address that issue the city will cut a channel and line it with brick to allow the water to drain properly. Secondly, the curb across Quince Street from the entrance is preventing water from draining on to the green space in between City Hall and First Baptist Church of Picayune. Wallace said cuts will be made in that curb as well.
A third issue involves drainage work that is needed on Williams Street, but Wallace said the city will attempt to resolve the problem by addressing the first two issues before tackling the work on Williams.
“I think it (water) just got trapped, and I think by doing these things we can help keep the water from getting trapped,” Wallace said.
Council members also inquired about the work schedule for paving on Cooper Road and curb changes on Sycamore Road. Wallace said by next Tuesday, he expects crews to make the changes to the curb on Sycamore at the intersection with Cooper Road. Also, the Mississippi Department of Transportation will begin to flash the traffic lights at the intersection of Highland Commons Parkway and Sycamore Road in the next week or two.
When the new traffic lights become active, MDOT will phase out the traffic lights at the intersection of Cooper and Sycamore Roads.
Work to install a turn lane at the intersection of Sycamore and Adcox Roads will take place after the work near Cooper and Sycamore is complete, Wallace said.
In other matters the council;
— Accepted a donation of $1,500 from IESI, formerly Coastal Waste, for the plaza at the City Hall addition.
— Authorized the mayor’s signature on an agreement between the city and Picayune Main Street for the use of office space at the Intermodal Center.
The next regular meeting of the council is scheduled for 5 p.m. on May 7.