Flooding woes in the Steens area seemed to be the major concern of citizens who were at the neigborhood”s community center Monday night for a town-hall style meeting.
Steens has been plagued with flooding for years, as the Yellow and Luxapalila creeks overflow the eastern Lowndes County community.
Many of the homes in Steens are built several feet above the ground in anticipation of flood waters.
Lowndes County Road Manager Ronnie Burns assured community members his crew is willing to do all they can to help offer some relief — from clearing ditches to adding oversized culverts.
Harry Sanders, supervisor for Lowndes County”s District 1, which encompasses Steens, said he and other board members have been working toward a more permanent fix.
Preliminary engineering and environmental work has been performed by the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District to create a flood-control lake at the Mississippi-Alabama state line, he said. But the water management district will not move forward with a project unless all property owners sign off on it.
“Alabama (landowners) didn”t want to give an easement,” Sanders said.
Disturbing wetlands also makes the issue more complicated. For every acre cut into, an acre has to be restored elsewhere through mitigation banking, at a cost of $30,000 per acre.
Another concern, raised in response to a presentation from Columbus-Lowndes Development Link CEO Joe Higgins on retail and economic development, was the need for parking lot and road repairs at Leigh Mall.
“A lot of those roads are privately owned,” Sanders said, noting the county can”t force private property owners to make such improvements.
Along with Sanders, who has hosted similar community meetings throughout his district for the past 12 years, county department heads and elected officials gave updates on their offices.
Candidates for local and state offices also were on hand, taking the opportunity to introduce themselves to Steens community members and ask for their vote.
While they were campaigning, Lowndes County Sheriff Butch Howard, who is retiring after 16 years in office, thanked residents for the privilege of serving them.
“I”m not running for anything but my recliner,” Howard said. “I can promise you that.”
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