In front of building owners and downtown merchants, the Ringgold City Council took quick action in hiring consultants to study the city's storm drainage system at its meeting Aug. 12.
The council voted to spend $18,430 on two consulting contracts with CTI Engineers of Chattanooga to study the drainage system around the historic downtown and central business district following a July 9 rain event that flooded several businesses along Nashville Street.
One night after the council meeting, Mayor Nick Millwood, Councilman Kelly Bomar, City Manager Dan Wright and local property owner McCracken Poston stood downtown as a powerful thunderstorm moved through Ringgold around 8:30 p.m.
The storm had winds of 40 miles per hour and dropped 1.5 to 2.2 inches of rain in less than two hours, according to WRCB meteorologist Paul Barys. Power was lost for two hours.
"We had all kinds of issues that night," said Wright. "It was like a lake near Alabama Highway and Boynton Drive. All those orange barrels on Alabama Highway were scattered in fields and some will never be found."
Poston owns the building where local coffee shop Caffeine Addicts remains out of business due to damage from the July 9 storm, which brought anywhere from 1.5 to 5-plus inches of rain over a 30-minute period. He estimates his losses at $25,000.
"It was good to see [councilmembers] respond the way they did," said Poston, a local attorney and former state representative.
The first CTI contract was for $12,000 to study the main drainage basin on Claiborne Street, the site of the most extensive flooding on July 9. Poston contends a parking lot developed by the Ringgold Downtown Development Authority located just off Claiborne Street does not drain properly and is a significant part of the issue.
The second study cost $6,430. Wright said it will cover drainage systems near Tiger Trail and Lamar Street; Church Street and Lafayette Street; along Depot Street; and behind two locations in the Claiborne Shopping Center.
Wright told the council that the $18,430 was unbudgeted but he recommended it due to the "importance" of the issue. CTI has done previous work for Ringgold, and Wright said he believes that experience will help expedite the work.
Poston said CTI's lead project engineer, Philip Schofield, reached out to him a week ago to schedule a meeting with him, other property owners and local merchants to get their input on the study. That fulfills the council's pledge at the Aug. 12 meeting for the process to be inclusive and transparent.
"He called me and I asked him if he was going to look at the parking lot," Poston said. "He said, 'I am going to start there.' That's all I needed to hear. A detailed look is warranted."
Email Davis Lundy at davislundy@aol.com.