The Shadow
Concerns over triggering criteria prompted Covington City Council to table two action items Tuesday night that would have enrolled the city in the Upper James River Basin Water Supply Plan and Drought Response Plan.
During a special called meeting Tuesday, council tabled an ordinance and resolution in order to take the time to develop alternative triggering criteria that would officially place the city of Covington in drought status.
The proposed plan, which was presented to council by Shawn Sawyer of the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission, uses the water level of Lake Moomaw to determine whether or not the city would be officially in a drought.
Several members of council expressed concern over a variety of factors that cause the level of water in Lake Moomaw to fluctuate.
“To say the city of Covington is in a drought just because of the level of Lake Moomaw, I just can’t put the two together in my head,” said Covington Mayor Rob Bennett.
Vice Mayor Buddy Brown pointed out that requests from Richmond for more water to be released through Gathright Dam could potentially trigger the drought indicators suggested by Sawyer.
“They could call up from Richmond and tell them to release more water and then we’re in a drought,” said Brown.
“That’s a bad barometer,” added Councilman Bill Zimmerman.
The regional water plan includes 11 other localities and is something that the Department of Environmental Quality is expecting to have approved soon.
That’s a time frame that Brown objected to.
“I don’t like when things are brought to me to vote on one evening that need to be in place the next day,” Brown said. “I’ve done that before and I’ve regretted it.”
Council tabled adoption of the plan until city officials could amend it with their own triggering criteria.
During the regular scheduled November work session that followed the special called meeting, council heard a presentation from Covington Police Chief J.B. Broughman concerning a potential new emergency alert system.
“It opens up new doors for us,” said Broughman “It allows us to reach as many people as we possibly can and get information to them as quickly as possible.”
The new system, which would be used by Alleghany County as well, would send out phone calls, text messages and e-mails and place banners on governmental websites during emergency situations. The system also allows for unlimited calls and messages, something that Broughman said will be an asset to emergency personnel.
“The unlimited part really allows us to broaden the type of situations we consider using this system for,” explained Broughman. “We can also designate what calls go out by group and by location. That’s something that I think will work well in a flooding situation.”
The system reaches a variety of platforms, including tablet computers, personal computers, cellular phones and landlines. Citizens would have the opportunity to list what contact methods they would prefer to be used.
The approximate $14,000 cost will be split between Alleghany County and the city of Covington. The city’s share rounds out to $3,723.
“The funds to do this are already in my budget,” said Broughman. “All in all, this is a good system.”
In other business Tuesday, council:
– Heard a request from the Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Tourism for $945 in supplemental funds for magazine advertisement and additional $500 for the July 4 fireworks display;
– Heard a briefing regarding Phase II of the Inflow/Infiltration Project;
– Held a discussion regarding DEQ/VRA bonds;
– Held a discussion regarding the sewer ordinance;
– Held a discussion regarding a memorandum of understanding between outgoing City Manager John Doane and council;
– Heard a request by Councilwoman Stephanie Clark regarding her appointments on the Social Services Board and Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Tourism.
