Resident brings drainage concern to BC Council

The Bridge City City Council proclaimed the week as Municipal Court Week at their regular meeting Tuesday night. Municipal court personnel, from left are: Sherry Tisdale, city secretary/court administrator; Terry Smith, deputy court clerk; Judge Joy Dubose-Simonton; Judge Ida Schossow; Judge James B. Scales III; Mitzi Nolan, deputy court clerk; and Paul M. Fukuda, city prosecutor. RECORD PHOTO: David Ball

David Ball - For The Record

One resident addressed the Bridge City City Council at their regular meeting on the evening of November 3 over an issue he said he has been dealing with for a long time.

Kenneth Prosperie resides at 819 Sunnyside St. He told the council he has a drainage issue in his neighborhood resulting in standing water in ditches.

"I feel like I shouldn't be here. I've already talked to several council members," he said. "I shouldn't have to beg to get a ditch dug. Bridge City needs to get its priorities straight.

He said the council should exercise good leadership and follow through on things.

Prosperie said better city services are needed instead of building water parks or hosting Born on the Bayou programs that drain resources.

He said there is a 176-foot long culvert in his neighborhood with 10 inches of stagnant water or 528 gallons of water that will not drain because there is a levy blocking it. He thought one course of action would be to contact the health department about concerns of West Nile Virus. He was told to contact either the city or the Orange County Drainage District to maintain the drainage easement.

"There's an 11-inch rise. Quit worrying about the little things and build like a detention pond or a drainage ditch," he said. (Councilwoman) Tammi (Fisette) had to have her house sandbagged this last rain. You're focused on the wrong direction," Prosperie said.

Mayor Kirk Roccaforte asked Prosperie if everything drained correctly or if the water backed up this last rain. Prosperie said it was a slow rain so the water didn't back up. However, it takes three months to dry out the pipe.

Roccaforte said the city could place in a small pipe but that would not fix the problem of the water ponding due to a nearby marsh. Also, any holding ponds dug will fill up. He added he saw Prosperie's ditch and there was one inch of water. The pipes are a different story.

City Manager Jerry Jones said with the 11-inch rise the water will fall to one end or to the other. Additionally, one of his neighbors doesn't want his driveway broken to get to the culvert.

"It' practically level. The grade levels aren't always perfectly level with the flow lines. We can run a profile line and dig ditch drains from one end to the other," Jones said.

Councilman Eric Andrus asked Prosperie if the water was in the pipe or in his yard. Prosperie said the water needs to come out of the pipe because dirt is three-quarters of the way in the pipe.

Roccaforte said with the high water from last week the ditch should be ponding. Prosperie said there's a 10-inch hill in the middle of the ditch on the other side of the road. Roccaforte asked if the city digs it out would Prosperie stop coming to the city council.

"There's a lot worse problems in Bridge City. We had water over the streets we can't fix," Roccaforte said.

Prosperie said the city needs to get its priorities straight and "quit having fun."

Roccaforte said he disagreed with that statement because citizens want parks.

"This is all part of what Bridge City is as a community and things for our kids to do. You act like the all the city does is nothing but give money away," he said.

Roccaforte added the city has budget workshops Prosperie is welcomed to attend, but the city doesn't have the money or the personnel to fix everything.

Prosperie said in the past city crews would begin digging and not return because someone is telling them not to come back and dig.

Councilman Danny Cole said some culverts need to be readjusted because they aren't draining well on the opposite of the street.

Roccaforte asked Jones if the culverts can be dug up. he said they "certainly can."

"We can pick them up and put them on the grade," Jones said.

Councilman David Rutledge favored completing the profile and proceeding from there.

The council also awarded a contract for construction of a new police station/municipal court building upon staff recommendations.

Local contractor James Stone's TMCI was the low bidder to build both the building and the parking lot for $603,050.

Another contract was awarded for Sludge Management for the city's sewer treatment plant.

Jones said in the past dry beds were extensively used and they couldn't pull off enough sludge. He added the city could save $30,000 a year and could be more if greater amounts are hauled out.

A contract for a proposed 10-inch water line improvement for Highways 408 and 1442 to 5-T Utilities for $366,740 was approved. Jones said the waterline will run from Highway 408 to Sunnyside Street. The well at 408 is better than 1442.

He said the flow will improve and it will be "a really big help." Also, the bid was substantially lower than estimated.

Lastly, Jones reported the splash pad water park is almost completed. A leak needs to be fixed and decals attached. He estimates it will take no longer than Tuesday to complete.

Filtration system bids will be in at the end of the week and work on the lift stations will start on November 4.

Fisette reported bids will be taken for staining the floor of the Bridge City Public Library and the Friends of the Library will be painting on November 14. The public is invited to help.