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THE SEA COAST ECHO
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2003 * 3A
Bay Council gets that sinking feeling
Members fear new drainage infrastructure may not be sound
BY MARY G. SEILEY Staff Writer
Bay St. Louis City Council members	may
attack a potentially colossal infrastructure problem this afternoon, in an extra meeting set for 5:30 p.m.
Mayor Eddie Favre said Tuesday he'll be ready with recommendations concerning collapsing drainage pipe connections underground in the historic downtown area. Only five or six problems have popped up so far, he said, but there may be dozens - or hundreds - in the failure process. And the clock is ticking on the warranty that the city has covering the multi-million drainage project. Council had agreed to recess its regular monthly meeting until today, at Favre's request, in order to deal with this month's recommendations
from the Planning and Zoning Commission.
But a later discussion of the drainage pipe problem led to a promise by Favre to ready a recommendation by today on how to proceed with that issue.
Known as "Project C," the drainage improvement program at issue was completed several years ago by Colom Construction Co., at a cost of some $3.5 million. The engineering work was done by James J. Chiniche.
Before the construction was completed, officials noticed that more than 500 pipe joints had not been fully connected, the mayor said. That led to an agreement that those joints could be sealed with a special grout.
"The literature assured us that the grout was so strong, the pipe would break before the grout," said city attorney John Scafide during Tuesday night's meeting. But, he added, city Public Works Director Ron Vanney says the grout has broken in five or six spots.
That's led to sinking sur-
faces, officials say, within Project C. "We're just seeing isolated problems, but that doesn't mean there won't be more," Favre warned.
How to proceed from here is at issue. Some suggest hiring a firm to video the underground connections would determine how extensive a problem has developed. Others think Chiniche should analyze what's happened.
But Ward I council member Doug Seal is insisting that an independent engineering firm should be brought in to analyze the problem. Favre said perhaps a city worker could walk through the six-foot pipes and report on the joints.
Or, the mayor said, he may call several engineering firms for proposals on assessing the drainage system's health.
"We need to identify what caused it to fail," Favre said.
While the overall project had a one-year general warranty, which has expired, officials say they got an extra four-year warranty on the grouting work. That
expires in several -months, officials said. Meanwhile, the warranty bonding company has been put on notice about the several joints that have collapsed so far.
In	other	business
Tuesday, council:
•	Almost promised to take action on a Historic Preservation Ordinance proposal that has been in the works for some eight years. Hancock County Historical Society officials urged action Tuesday night, but council members said they would vote late next month, once they are sure a final, acceptable, ordinance has been drafted.
•	Agreed on a draft franchise renewal document for Mediacom cable. The city has no control over the rates that Mediacom charges its customers. There are several new provisions the city hopes to win in the contract, however, including guaranteed use of a free public access channel.
•	Adopted a resolution supporting the upcoming 2004 Dixie Softball Angels World Series, to be held in
Bay St. Louis. The tournament among 12 teams from
11	states will run at least seven days, with competing teams of 9- and 10-year-olds.
•	Discussed adopting a special deposit rate for renters who establish utility service. The current residential deposit fee of $210 applies to property owners or renters, but officials say they have little recourse against tenants who relocate with unpaid utility bills.
•	Discussed banning "can shakers" from city intersections. Officials are concerned over the safety of fund solicitors - especially youths - in high traffic areas.
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