Downtown Flowery Branch’s Drainage Problem Being Reviewed

The downtown Flowery branch is being eyed by various developers for quite a long time now but the problem with the drainage system still remains to be a hindrance. Nothing seems to be happening though the city manager, Bill Andrew, has already sent assurances that the city has enough funds to correct the on-going storm water problem.

To finally address the long overdue issue, the City Council has come to a vote last Thursday and has decided that they are going to allot a maximum of $89,800 for the project. This will cover the fee in hiring Southeastern Engineering Inc. which is based in Marietta. The company will be responsible in conducting a storm water research on the west side of the track in Norfolk Southern Railroad. These tracks are the ones cutting off the downtown area which includes Mitchell and Pine roads.

Andrew expressed to the Council that they will only be able to decide once they have the result of the study and from there on move to another phase which is to conduct a detailed survey as well as procure construction drawings. He shared how the blueprints will make it easier to explain to future interested developers that they have the solution to the problem and will be able to move to construction. The blueprint and design themselves will be worth the funding.

Despite the approval of the contract, not everyone on the council voting was in favor of the decision including Councilman Joe Anglin who believes that they should wait until the 17th of December where a council meeting will be held to answer other concerns. In general, Anglin was also not sure since the council has already decided to have a construction of the city hall and the total cost of $4.9 million would end up being $5 million.

The city hall project has other improvements included such as extending the Church Street going to Pine Street and into the Railroad. The work in mind is currently being pushed by the city to be funded by the state. Anglin expressed his concerns regarding the financial threshold that will amount to as a result of the project and that city officials should be well aware of it.

For any problems concerning plumbing and drainage in Sheffield, contact Pro-Jett Plumbing & Drainage.