Jacksonville City Councilwoman Lori Boyer has proposed a bill to help alleviate flooding from McCoys Creek.
Boyer said the creek will go under a restoration project that will include improving the quality of water as well as making the area more visibly appealing.
Before the project can be started the city needs to study the creek to determine such things as how much water it can hold.
“All of that being said is that we don’t have the underlying information about how deep the creek is in various places,” Boyer said.
The proposed ordinance, which was introduced Tuesday, would allocated $89,000 for the project for a surveyor to do the a cross section survey on the creek.
The survey will be completed in 100 foot intervals, starting at the Times-Union building, which is at the mouth, and include the Tributary Crossing Hollybrook Park.
“We have done some preliminary drainage study work on what we need to do in McCoys Creek to assist with the flooding issues,” Boyer said.
Boyer is proposing moving money from unused supplemental funding for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to cover the project.
The city had allocated additional money to JSO to help hire more officers, but the department was able cover the new group with funds already in JSO’s initial budget, according to Boyer.
Boyer has also proposed bills to make crosswalks safer and create an education campaign focused on pedestrian and cyclist safety.
Joslyn Simmons can be reached at newsteam@wjct.org, 904-358-6316
