ELLISVILLE – Officials in this Jones County city are continuing to make improvements to help things flow smoothly. The Ellisville Board of Aldermen and Ellisville Mayor Lynn Buckhaults during a recent meeting discussed several watershed projects designed to help water flow properly within the city.
Wiley Pickering, the engineer working on the projects, gave city officials an update on some ongoing watershed projects in the city. Pickering said the city has several ongoing projects being funded through the Natural Resources Conservation Service Program.
NRCS was derived from the 1935 legislature, Public Law 74-46, passed by Congress. The law recognized that "the wastage of soil and moisture resources on farm, grazing, and forest lands . . . is a menace to the national welfare," and it directed the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) as a permanent agency in the USDA. In 1994, Congress changed SCS’s name to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to better reflect the broadened scope of the agency’s concerns.
Following some discussion, the board of aldermen approved a request by D & M Clark of Mize for the first payment in the amount of $42,828.75 for the NRCS Project on Pine Street, Devall Street and Highway 11/Front Street. Pickering said the payment is for work through the end of May.
The engineer said the work on Devall Street is a rip-rap (concrete-type) project while the Pine Street and Highway 11/Front Street projects are the traditional rock/stone-type project.
Also this week, the board approved Clark Engineers request for payment in the amount of $19,357.82 for the design and supervision of the NRCS Project at Pine Street and Highway 11/Front Street.
Mayor Buckhaults said the projects will be a benefit to the city, and he said city leaders are appreciative of the cooperation and support of the Jones County Board of Supervisors and Pat Harrison Waterway District on these projects.
“The Jones County Board of Supervisors and the Pat Harrison Waterway District have been good to us,” Buckhaults said. “We appreciate what they do.”
Pickering said 75 percent of the projects are reimbursable by NRCS. He said the city is responsible for the other 25 percent of the cost. However, cities generally request financial assistance from Pat Harrison Waterway District.
“We appreciate the Jones County Board of Supervisors because the city makes a request to the supervisors for assistance,” Pickering explained. “The board of supervisors then makes a request to Pat Harrison for some support.”
Officials said Pat Harrison generally supports local entities by funding half of the entity’s local cost share not to exceed $25,000.
Buckhaults said the support of all of these agencies help to make positive changes in the city of Ellisville.