The city of Meridian is looking to add more water wells at its north freshwater treatment plant and create a new position for an urban forester to help maintain the city’s trees.

 

In a City Council work session Thursday, Jason Gault of Kimley Horn, an engineering firm contracted with the city to assist with water infrastructure projects, said the city is set to receive $6.7 million from the Mississippi Department of Health to pay for the work.

 

Meridian has two wells at its north plant that have a history of problems, Gault said, including the largest well at the site. If that well goes down, he said, the plant will lose more than half of its capacity.

 

The loan funds are set to be put to use installing at least one, hopefully two, new wells at the north plant, Gault said, to both expand the city’s capacity to produce freshwater and provide redundancy in the event a well goes down. How much the city is able to do will depend on how far the funding stretches, he said.

 

“The $6.7 million we’ve got for this, it’s going to be tight to get two wells,” he said. “We know we can get one well.”

 

Public Works Director David Hodge said drilling new wells is expensive, but it is still cheaper than continuing to patch and maintain the city’s problematic wells in the long run.

 

The good news is Meridian residents won’t be on the hook for the full amount of the loan, Gault said. Of the $6.7 million being borrowed, MSDH will forgive $4.57 million in principal. The city’s water fund, which is funded by residents’ water bill payments, will only have to pay back approximately $2.1 million.

 

Urban Forestry

 

In other business, the city’s community development department is looking to create a position for an urban forestry expert to help maintain the city’s trees.

 

Community Development Director Craig Hitt explained the job, until now, has been handled by a city planner, who also has experience in forestry. That employee, however, has been promoted to senior planner and is taking on additional duties that do not leave time for the forestry work.

 

The person in the urban forestry position will be tasked with coordinating tree trimming and maintenance for all city trees throughout Meridian, Hitt said, with a starting salary of around $50,000.

 

Councilwoman Ty Bell Lindsey said the city definitely needs to address some of its trees, which are growing into power lines and over roadways. There are also several dead trees throughout the city, she said, which are unsightly and need to be removed.

 

Hitt said Lindsey’s observations are part of the reason why his department needs the urban forestry position. There are currently more than 100 problematic trees throughout the city that need to be addressed, he said.

 

“The work is there. We just don’t have the person to see that it gets done,” he said.

 

Councilman Dwayne Davis suggested finding an unfilled position in one of the city’s departments from which the funding for the urban forestry job could be taken.