Four months after floodwaters enveloped large swaths of East Ridge, city leaders still are grappling with damage and planning for the future.
On Thursday councilmen got a bird’s-eye view of how bad the floods were. Hamilton County Geographic Information Services employees displayed satellite images from the flood that compared it to 2003’s flood.
Though the damage was less, large patches of blue ink on a map showed council members and residents how the floodwaters spread.
Later, the council approved a $52,000 to repair the ballfields at Camp Jordan Park after floodwaters damaged that popular sporting arena. Parks administrator Freeda Wheeler said she thinks city employees can do some of the work, which might reduce the costs of that project. It should be complete by March when the summer sporting season kicks off, she said.
Prior to the regular meeting, the council heard from Susan Goldblatt, community development director with the Southeast Tennessee Development District, about two options for a February application for Community Development Block Grants.
City leaders opted to apply for a $300,000 federal grant to buy several houses deemed “slum and blighted” by recent floods. The city must first find the homes. They cannot be rentals. City leaders instead could have applied for a $500,000 grant to partner with the Waste Water Treatment Authority to repair sewer lines that overflow into South Chickamauga Creek.
City Manager William Whitson told the council he thought their chances of getting the $300,000 grant were better.