TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Work begins on Mitchell Heights drains

ADVERTISEMENT

By MICHAEL D. BATES, Hernando Today

Published: December 5, 2007

Updated: 12/04/2007 09:46 pm

BROOKSVILLE - A missed deadline is normally not a good thing.

But for Mitchell Heights residents, it should have a positive outcome.

Workers this week started a $50,000 drainage improvement project in this community, located on the south edge of Brooksville near the former contaminated public works compound.

When it's finished, the neighborhood will have a new drainage retention pond that should improve the drainage ditches and piping system along Bethune and D Streets.

The end result should be improved stormwater management in that area, Assistant County Engineer Gregg Sutton said.

Occasionally during rains, the water comes down Bethune Street, runs under that road and into some culverts and into the woods, Sutton said. One house in particular gets flooded.

To improve the situation, the county bought two lots across the street from that house and will clear the lots, dig out a drainage retention pond there and improve the piping to get the water to that pond.

At the same time, the county plans to improve the intersection of D Street and Bethune, making it safer for motorists who are in jeopardy of driving their vehicles into a big ditch.

The estimated $50,000 cost includes the purchase of the two lots and the drainage improvements. The story leading up to this week's drainage project actually began in 2005 when the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) slapped the county with a $25,250 fine for missing the mandatory site assessment reports.

Those reports detail the action the county's consultant is taking to clean up the contamination at the former public works compound, off West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

The county had the option of writing the check to DEP or doing an in-kind project in the vicinity of the site that would benefit the immediate neighborhood. The county opted to do the project, which had to cost one-and-a-half times the cost of the fine.

"We thought it would be a far better thing to do a tangible project and help the Mitchell Heights neighborhood," Sutton said.

After getting DEP's permission and getting the requisite approval from the Southwest Florida Water Management District, the project was ready to begin.

And even though the county has until March to finish the drainage project, Sutton hopes to have it completed by Christmas.

"It's unfortunate we were late (with the assessment reports), but I think the outcome is a good one," Sutton said.

Sutton said his department has already notified Mitchell Heights residents of the project scope.

"On the surface, it appears a very good thing," said Paul Douglas, a consultant with the Health Awareness and Mitchell Heights Restoration Board.

Fixing the drains along Bethune Street is better than writing a check to the state and putting it in government coffers, he said.

"Not only will it alleviate flooding (on Bethune Street), but the rest of the community will benefit because now the water has a place to reside until it percolates into the soil," Douglas said.

Reporter Michael D. Bates can be reached at 352-544-5290 or mbates@hernandotoday.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT