By John Howell
Como officials set Wednesday, April 23 for a public hearing to allow residents to comment on the need for an upgrade to the city’s sewage treatment lagoon.

Como Mayor Everette Hill and the North Delta Planning and Development District (NDPDD) are attempting to write a successful Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application that would allow improvements to the lagoon.

During December’s meeting of the mayor and aldermen, town maintenance worker Darrick Ellis and utility contractor K. T. Newman both cited the dire condition of lagoon’s equipment. The pumps and aerators are “both beyond their last leg,” Newman said.

NDPDD representative Lillian Morris spoke to the mayor and aldermen during Thursday’s special called meeting, asking for their approval for the April 23 hearing.

”We’re asking for you all to help us obtain letters from citizens discussing the issues of sewer, any sewer issues they have,” Morris said. “That helps leverage your application; we need your letters of support.”

Mayor Hill said he had been to Jackson Tuesday to meet with the Mississippi Dept. of Environmental Quality (M.D.E.Q).

“I had to go to Jackson because DEQ called me to talk about our lagoon here in town,” Hill said. He said knowing that his late afternoon meeting DEQ meeting could prevent his return in time for the 6 p.m. regularly scheduled board meeting, prompted him to move business to Thursday’s special called meeting.

(Stories in the April 4 and April 8 edition had stated incorrectly that anticipation of the lack of a quorum of aldermen had prompted his decision to call the special meeting on Thursday.)
“I didn’t want to have people waiting at 6 and I didn’t get back at 6,” the mayor said.

“We’re working on trying to get some money for this lagoon,” Hill continued. “We put in next month for our CDBG grant. For two years in a row we got turned down. We found out that we had an old grant back in 2005 that was left open. That’s what’s been holding us up on the CDBG; the state’s still punishing us for another two years,” the mayor continued.

“I think we’ve got a good group of engineers working for us; they meet us in Jackson,” Hill said. “Everything that DEQ wanted, they already had it on the table.”

Aldermen on March 1 hired Cook Coggin Engineering as Como’s municipal engineering firm.
Hill said that Morris had worked with him to identify the problem created by the 2005 grant left open and the point system CDBG officials will use to evaluate Como’s grant application.

“That’s what I’m trying to do now, build up a point system,” he said. Locating homes in town that are still unconnected to the municipal sewer system and obtaining letters and photos from people in whose homes sewage back up during heavy rains will help Como’s application score, Hill said.

“I am planning on taking these aldermen on a tour of the lagoon so everybody will know what we’re fighting for,” the mayor said.

During Morris’ presentation, she also asked Como officials to adopt a code of standards required for the CDBG applications and to approve 25 percent match funds for a Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) if the application is successful. Under the terms of the grant, Como would provide match $1,000 with $3,000 from JAG funds for a total of $4,000 to be spent on police equipment.
Alderwoman Teresa Dishmon made the motion to adopt the code of standards with Alderman John Walton providing the second. Alderwoman Rachel Powell voted for the motion, passing it 3-0. Alderwoman Ruby Higgenbottom joined the meeting later. Alderwoman Sonia Heard did not attend.

For the JAG match approval, Walton made the motion and Dishmon provided the second.