The Town of Duck Hill has to go back to the drawing board to find a company to help pilot their study for water improvements in the town. Joe Sutherland of Sutherland Engineering and Surveying in Grenada told the board he had to reject both of the proposals sent in to perform the water improvement study.
The town is conducting a water study, thanks to funding from a Public Facilities Community Development Block Grant and an Appalachian Regional Commission, to analyze the town’s water at the Wilson Street well. The study will determine the correct method from removing color from the water in the well.
The study, which will be conducted over a one-month period, will gather data to determine the specific minerals and sediment in the water, which will help determine how to remove it and clear up the color. At the end of the study, the winning company will have to submit a finished report making recommendations to remove color from the water.
“MDA (Mississippi Development Authority) told me to reject both proposals because they were non-responsive,” Sutherland told Mayor Joe Cooley and the board. He said the prices were also way out of budget.
“They’re not apples to apples,” he said.
Sutherland said after the study is completed and executed, everyone in town should have clear water.
Alderman Leroy Nash asked Sutherland for an update on the waste water improvements.
In 2017, the town was awarded a $300,000 grant by the Southeast Sustainability Community Fund to fix its waste water drainage problems. Previously, the water was draining through several ditches in town that were prone to flooding and holding water for days. In some cases, the Community Center, used for community-gathering and recreation in town, had to be closed until the water receded.
Duck Hill was the only town in the state of Mississippi to receive the grant. Others included Huntsville, Ala., Chattanooga, Tenn., Charleston, S.C., Savannah, Ga. and Buncombe County, N.C.
Sutherland told Nash the project is in its second phase, which has to be completed within two years. “We’re done with the construction part, now we’re doing the landscaping part,” Sutherland said.
Action Communication Education Reform [ACER] executive director Al White told Nash that the work has been delayed until the town acquired another funding source for the project. Sutherland said the project is strictly facilitated by ACER, and the town has no financial obligation with it.
“I’m just the liaison between them and the town,” Sutherland said. “We have no financial responsibility.”
In other town business, Police Chief Tyler Winter told the board that the city’s Charger patrol vehicle is still in disrepair.
“In my personal opinion, it’s not worth fixing,” Winter said.
Mayor Joey Cooley said, “That car has given us trouble from day one. Thought we were getting a good deal with it.”
Cooley asked Winter if they’d received their body cam. “
We have and it’s helpful already,” Winter said.
• Public Works Superintendent Patricia Carrington said the town’s bigger lawn mower caught fire, and they’ve been using the smaller lawn mower.
“The Husqvarna caught afire,” Carrington said. “I had just parked it, and Robert came in and said ‘I put out your lawn mower.’”
She also said the backhoe’s tires have been popping.
“Good thing we’re in budget talks,” Cooley said. “I know what’s on your mind. You need a new backhoe.”
• Approved Gas Superintendent Frank Faulkner to attend a Gas Seminar in Pearl in September with mileage and per diem.
