Minutes 04/25/1961 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Anril 25th- 196,1 At a regula~ meeting of the C~ty Council, held on April 25th, 1961, there were present R. Irvine Smith, Jack P. Barnes, W.R. Breedlove, W. T. Leafy, R. B. Seward, George R. Walker, ~. E. Weiseman, A.~P. Johnson,Jr., City Manager, and J. S. Livesay, Jr.; City Attorney. The meeting was opened with Prayer by Mr. Leafy. Minutes of regular meeting of April 1 lth, 1961 were read and approved. 61-t05 - A public hearing on the proposed changes in the new Zoning Ordinance and in the map as advertised in the local paper, of April 9th, 1961 was held.' No one appeared in regard to the chan~es in t~e Ordinance. 'The following spoke relative to the proposed ctmn~es in the map: 1. Floyd Simpson, relative to the status of Reed St. in Cradock 2. Mrs. Wermick, 3503 South St., who requested that that the rezoning in her area be R-68 rather than C-l, to avoi~ b~siness establishments being placed too near residences. The following reports from the City Manager were read: 61-106 - "I submit herewith s report received from the Public Works Department con- cerning the drainage of Gander Creek. Attachment - "This is in response to the ~=tter received by the City Council dated February. 22, '61, signed by Frank La Viola, 419 Clifforc[ St., City, an([ others,concerning the dr'sirings of Gander Creek. Gander Creek is the main drainage, outlet for storm water for a large area extending from Camden Ave. to the Elizabeth River and from County to Jef£erson gr., this comprises many acres of land. The creek at one time extended from the river to a point near the ~i~%e~sec'tion of South St. and Elm Ave., with another branch extending back to about Race St. and Camden Ave. ~.A portion of this in recent years has been in - closed with large size pipe drains and reinforced concrete box ~ulverts. The portion inclosed extends from Cam- den and Race St. and from~County St. and Elm Ave. to s point east of Effingham St. From near Effingham St. ~o First St. it is a large open drain ditch with the exception of where it crosses Washington, Dinwiddie and Court Streets, and the Seaboard Airline Raioroad twice. It is our understanding that if and when the 'Billy Goat Alley' housing project is constructed the Hoasing Authority will inclose that portion from Washington to Effingham St. When this is done it will leave the portion from Washington St, to First St. open. This section when inclosed should be a reinforced concrete box culvert on a pile foundation, the minimum inside dimensions should be ten feet wide and four feet high or the equivalent thereto. The estimated cost for inclosing the portion from First to Washington St. will be From First St. to Court St. From Court St. to Washington St The section from Washington St. to Effingham St. will cost approximately $ 120,000.00 95,000.00 $ 215,000.00 54,600.00 Grand total for inclosing Gander Creek from First St. to Effingham St, 265,600,00 The tide ebbs and flows in Sander Creek and during extremely high tides and low areas adjoining are flooded and much debris floats in and it is a nuisance until it is cleaned up. Near the tunnell ventilation building where the creek crosses the S.A.L. tracks three 48 inch diameter culvert pipes were installe~. If the pipes ~re kept open and there is not an extra high tide this should not affect the drainage as the com- bined area of the culverts is practically the same as the area of the culvert under Court St. If there is a high tide the water is over the top of both, there is very little that can be done unless the creek is inclosed and the low lands filled to the proper elevation. It was suggested in the letter that the Tunnel Commission be made to correc~ their error hy bridging under the railroad tracks in lieu of the three pipes. Even if-this would help conditionsI I do'not know who could make the Commission do s6mething of this kind under a railroad track. The Tunnel Commission officials have agreed to have their forces keep the culvertt pipe clean and clear of obstructions. This _~ch~y have been doing for sometime. We are also keeping a close watch on it and the only time water stands in the area to our knowledge for any leng.th of time is during the hurricane storms or extreme high tides with simultaneous heavy rain fall. The tides bring objects in of various descrip - tions and they can, and do, become lodge~ in this drain and others all over the City. ~he rain washes silt, trash, and all kinds of debris into the drains, which retards the flow uJatil it is cleaned out. Some of our resl~ dents also are very careless about the disposal of trash. We will do our best with the aid of the tunnel forces to keep Gander ~reek clear of obstructions so that the water will have a free flow to the Elizabeth River. Maybe before too long a time th~ City will be able to inclose the remainder of Gander Creek. I think this would be s very worthwhile project when the funds are available. Bigned - F. J. Bergeron, Director of Public Works." Motion of Mr. Breedlove that the report be received and filed for consideration in the long-range Capital Improvement plan, was adopted, without dissenting vote. 61-107 - "The matter of the handling of unpaid water accounts and the problem oi Mrs. T.W. Jones' water bill was referred 5o me at the last Council meeting. An error in turning off water servic~ has occurred in the following manner. The Water Department issues a three day notice before any action is taken to shut off water service. If a consumer should mail their check for the water bill on the third day, it would not be received before the inspectors wenz out Eo turn the water off on the morning of the fourth day. Since January, the Water Department has handled approximately 17,500 of these accounts and after questioning