Clearwater Group to help county secure dam funds in legislature
The Oktibbeha County Board of supervisors unanimously approved asking the county’s lobbying firm, The Clearwater Group, to pursue funds to work on the Oktibbeha County Lake Dam Monday.
Following a presentation by Clearwater Group Partner Austin Barbour, the board voted to have the lobbying firm work on acquiring funds for the dam. Barbour also discussed some of the items benefitting the county from the 2020 legislative session, including its role in securing $1 million for work on Poorhouse road and $500,000 for work on Blackjack Road from the state.
“It was a very successful year, we feel like,” Barbour said. “We walked away after the end of a really odd legislative session, which of course was suspended because of COVID. We’re very excited that at the end of the legislative session, you’ve got appropriation dollars, and you have money coming in, because of the bond bill, for two road projects.”
He also said the firm would know whether Poorhouse road would be eligible for some federal funds sometime after Labor Day.
“There’s a number of different locations, but we’re cautiously optimistic on it,” Barbour said.
He also discussed the work on the dam, emphasizing that the vote would have to be unanimous for or the legislature to consider appropriating the funds.
“That’s sort of been our struggle for us to go get dollars on the lake project,” Barbour said. “They’re basically looking at us to say ‘OK we’ve got to have a 5-0 vote in support,’ particularly if it’s something outside of a road project or a bridge project or something like that.”
The dam will be Clearwater’s main objective for the county in the 2021 legislative session. The board had voted to authorize Clearwater to pursue funds for the dam earlier in the year, but decided to make a second motion with Barbour present.
“What I would say is it’s obviously up to the board to determine what you guys want to go with the lake, as the board’s individual members, but any type of appropriations we’re going to have unanimous voting, that’s the short of it,” Barbour said.
While he voted in favor of looking at funding for the dam project with Clearwater, District 5 Supervisor Joe Williams also expressed concerns about part of his own district.
“Oktoc Road is probably one of the most residential and one of the most heavily traveled roads in Oktibbeha County,” Williams said. “It’s a state aid road, and I just don’t see why the state would not appropriate enough funds to make Oktoc Road more appealing for individuals coming into our county, and then more travel-friendly for those who come into our county.”
The board also voted in support of a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) survey of the lake at flood stage from the Geosystems Research Institute at Mississippi State University. The LIDAR survey will involve flying a drone carrying especial equipment over the lake to get a more accurate idea of its topography and volume. The data could change the requirements and design of a new dam or influence repairs. The cost given was $9,000 if the survey was done at the lake’s regular level, or $18,000 at flood stage. The procedure was one suggested by Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Dam Safety Program Manager Will Mckercher when he addressed the board at its meeting on July 20.