Big pricetag for big problem

LEADINGTON – Stormwater runoff is an ongoing problem in Leadington — so much so that city officials believe it could cost upwards of $400,000 to correct the areas that have the biggest problems. Leadington Mayor Larry Kennon said the city is in the process of applying for a Community Development Block Grant to help.

“We have stormwater issues all over the city,” Kennon said. “We are applying for $400,000. We will take what we can get, though. If we get half of that or even part of it, we have that much more money to work with.”

Kennon said the city has hired Taylor Engineering to do a preliminary stormwater report. The report is costing the city $3,500.

“When we move forward with this the actual engineering work for a project of this scope could cost upwards of $100,000,” Kennon said. “We have to have our application in by April.”

He said Southeast Missouri Regional Planning will prepare the actual application for the city.

“We should have the preliminary report back from Taylor Engineering pretty soon,” Kennon said. “We will know more about what we are looking at (magnitude of project) at that time.”

Other cities have also taken measures to correct stormwater problems. In August of 2004 residents in Desloge passed a half-cent sales tax levy for stormwater improvements. Desloge recently completed phase two of the Cantwell Stormwater Improvement Project. The cost of the second phase of the project was approximately $561,489 with the entire cost of the project exceeding $1 million dollars.

Chris Cline is a reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact him at 573-431-2010, ext. 114 or at ccline@dailyjournalonline.com.