Wilson County: US Army Corps flood study for Spencer Creek to be delivered in April; public presentation set for June

Commissioner McFallon told the Wilson County steering committee that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed a flood study of Spencer Creek and will deliver the final report in April; the transcript does not specify an exact April date.

The study, McFallon said, will be used by the planning office and the planning commission to identify areas where new construction should not be approved because they are flood-prone, to provide lead time for evacuation warnings based on rainfall projections, and to inform future road and bridge capacity planning. McFallon said TVA had previously done a study on the same waterway and that that document is already in the planning office.

McFallon announced that after the Corps delivers the report in April, the county will host a public presentation of the findings in June at the new meeting hall at Berea Church of Christ. He said the hall seats about 275 people and that the presentation will run about an hour and include a question-and-answer period; he identified a presenter only by first name, Nicole. McFallon said the Corps delivery will take place in the Commission Room and that the meeting will begin at 9 a.m., but the transcript did not give a specific April delivery date or a specific June date for the public event.

No formal county action on the study was recorded at the meeting. McFallon described the report as technical guidance that “will show the planning officer where not to approve the planning commission where not to let people build houses because it will flood it,” and he added that it should help with planning for roads, bridges and schools.

Committee business at the start and end of the session included routine votes: the steering committee approved the meeting agenda by voice vote after a motion and a second; later a motion and second to adjourn passed. The transcript does not record roll-call vote tallies or the names of the members who moved and seconded those motions.

During closing remarks a commissioner noted a standing county resolution that requires the county attorney to declare emergencies and said he would like that requirement removed. The group did not take action on changing the resolution at this meeting; one commissioner said the matter cannot be addressed immediately and suggested preparing a draft resolution and securing sufficient votes at a future meeting.

The Corps report and the June public presentation are intended to inform local permitting and infrastructure planning; the commission did not adopt any regulatory changes or funding decisions at this session.