Aldermen advance $5 million city match for Mississippi flood-wall repairs

Alderman Browning, sponsor of Board Bill 115, told the Public Infrastructure and Utilities Committee on Jan. 14 that the city must allocate $5,000,000 as its match to draw down state funds for repairs to the flood wall along the Mississippi River. "This is an opportunity for the city to maximize the amount of money available in order to repair this critical piece of infrastructure," Browning said.

The bill, which Browning said is designed to secure matching state grant dollars, would fund initial testing, pump tests, debris removal from wells along the wall and replacement of valves and other components. Browning told the committee the streets division—per city charter—oversees flood-wall maintenance and will contract out specialized work. "There are 63 wells along the wall," she said, listing tasks that include replacing check valves and performing environmental testing.

Committee members asked whether the combined city and state funding (about $10 million if matched) would be sufficient to complete the work; Browning said the initial $700,000 would be used to scope and prioritize projects and that more funding sources could be sought. Aldermen Clark Hubbard and others asked to be added as co-sponsors.

After discussion the committee voted to enbank the board bill and gave Board Bill 115 a pass recommendation to the full Board of Aldermen. The committee did not record individual roll-call votes for the bill in the transcript record beyond the chair’s announcement that the bill was enbanked and moved forward.