Council members pledge support to complete East and West Strain Road drainage and sewer work during work session

During the work session prior to the June 23 regular meeting, multiple council members and staff discussed the multimillion-dollar drainage and sewer project for East and West Strain Road and pledged support to complete the work.

Council President Lucas opened with a statement calling the project a priority and asked individual council members to record commitments to complete the work. Council members including Councilman Wailes and Councilman Sykes said they would support completing the repairs. One speaker noted an award letter for $4.5 million that represents an authorized drawdown, but acknowledged the amount “is not yet in hand” and “we're not absolutely sure of the amount yet.” Council staff and members discussed that the work must start with drainage and that roughly $2–2.5 million could address initial drainage needs and allow the city to move toward sewer work.

Speakers said some drainage work could be done in-house and that there may be legal or ditch-work requirements; council and staff had walked the area and reviewed engineering options. No formal motion or vote was taken on the Strain Road project during the meeting; the discussion consisted of council members' verbal commitments and staff observations in the work session.

Council participants asked that their support be reflected in the minutes; one member requested commitments be recorded individually so the minutes show each member’s pledge. No budget amendment or specific funding commitment beyond referencing the $4.5 million award letter was adopted in the meeting record.