Over $125,000 in materials and supplies have been spent to perform repairs as of today. About $30,000 has been spent in overtime pay. Considering the areas being flooded this seems remarkable at this time. Additional costs will occur as some pipes and other water carrying structures suffered damage and must be replaced. Sinkholes have formed in many areas. By combining Codes inspections and Street Department site visits, maps are being constructed that show where flooding took place, sink holes opened, and areas where flooding has occurred many times in the past.
I have been monitoring events in Nashville through TV and newspaper articles. I had noted that they will work with FEMA and the state to start a fund to buy out homes that have suffered repeated flooding over the years. I raised the question in today’s Street Department meeting if Clarksville would join in on this. Street officials had been exploring this and will talk with FEMA in the next week or so to see if this fund could be created. Two areas showed up on the repeated flood map in our ward. The homes at the end of Hunter Lane in Colony Estates and a home on Vaughn Road were noted. I have worked with the city to try and get a federal buyout for a home on Hunter Lane, but federal rules are very tight and this home did not qualify. It flooded again and I am again seeking if there is a way to offer a buyout for this home and the one on Vaughn Road.
Several homes were identified in Rudolph Town that were flooded by the Red River. The map is still being updated so I may not have identified all the areas yet. I am at the point that if FEMA will not help, then the city needs to take action. In the case of the Hunter Lane and Vaughn Road homes, the county was the original approving authority to build on these lots and the city has had to battle the results in flooding.
