It was a relatively quiet evening Tuesday night, Oct. 19, at the Columbia Board of Aldermen meeting where two individuals addressed the board about potential water issues. Jerry Tolar, who attended last month’s meeting, returned Tuesday with the same high water bill issue. He had someone check it out, who reported there was no leak, yet when someone from the water department came, they advised there was a leak. Tolar also said that he reported previously that the meter reading on his water bill did not match the number of his actual meter.
Tolar told the board the situation was now even worse because his bill showed where the numbers were adjusted to be the same as on the meter. Yet it made the bill much higher by reading that he used more than 300,000 gallons of water. Mike McDaniel with the water department told Tolar that he would meet with him on Wednesday morning to take a better look at the situation.
Lisa Neely also addressed the board about her water bill. She said that while working on a sewer line, the city caused a water leak on her property, resulting in her having an unusually high bill. She requested a payment plan if the city would not adjust her water bill. The board approved providing a payment plan for her to pay it off over the next 12 months.
Police Chief Michael Kelly received approval for student resource officers Jenn Bass and Dave Burns to attend training in Meridian for their certification.
The board approved the transfer of a Ford F-350 pick-up from the police department to the city’s street department.
The board approved hiring Jayden Dean as a step 1 patrol officer and transferred student resource officer Markeisha Barber from full-time to part-time patrol officer.
Kennard “Keno” Stepney addressed the board about an incident that happened with the Columbia Police Department a couple of weeks ago. Kelly then spoke to the board and offered to explain the situation in executive session, but no executive session was held.
The city recently completed a paving project on several streets. Due to the water, sewer and storm water issues on Hawkins Avenue and Connor Street, paving was postponed until the problems can be addressed and corrected.
Engineer Jeff Dungan said that the city needs to look into the issues on Hawkins Avenue prior to any paving being completed. He said there are problems beneath the road, but until they can take a closer look, it is hard to diagnose the situation.
Dungan advised that the dirt work underway at the SportsPlex is going well, and the weather has allowed a lot of work to be done.
“It’s off to a good start,” Dungan said.
Mayor Justin Mckenzie requested a meeting with Dungan or one of his engineers regarding West Avenue from Columbia Valley Church towards Nathan Avenue. The concern is about rainwater that is running off from Strickland Street in that area.
The next meeting will be held on Nov. 2 at 4 p.m.
