Centerville Tidbits
Water Main Takes A Break
Most Centerville residents were without water for much of January 20 after a 12-inch water main broke near a local judicial ditch.
Immediately after the break, the city's main water tower drained "incredibly fast," losing about 300,000 gallons, City Administrator Dallas Larson and City Engineer Mark Statz explained to the City Council January 4.
"It was like a lake," Larson said. Added Mayor Mary Capra: "I did receive a lot of calls, but my husband was the fi rst to say to me, 'Honey, we've got no water pressure.'"
Water service was restored by the end of the day, thanks to a quick response by the Centennial Police Department, the Centerville Public Works Department and others, Larson noted. No repair cost estimates were available as of the council meeting.
Experts suspect that the culprit might have been a faulty component in pipe installed seven years ago near Judicial Ditch #55, located a considerable distance from local residential areas, Larson explained.
Larson and Capra noted that the incident sparked a review of city telephone lists and other elements of City Hall's emergency-response procedures.
"I think they did a great job," Capra said of those who responded to the January 0 incident. "It could have been so much worse if it had be1en near a neighborhood or houses."
Council Considers Red Cross "Get Ready" Program
A new American Red Cross program aimed at improving communities' readiness for disasters and emergencies was championed January 4 by Council Member Michelle Lakso.
Under "The Red Cross Community Challenge," city officials, businesses and residents alike can get free or reduced-cost first aid and CPR training as part of a year-long metro-area effort to make 2007 "The Year to Get Ready," Lakso explained.
A recent Red Cross study found that "the majority of Americans" have not taken "the basic steps necessary" to prepare themselves for house fires, winter storms and other potential disasters and emergencies, according to a recent letter from Twin Cities Red Cross Chapter CEO Jan McDaniel to Mayor Mary Capra.
Under the Red Cross Community Challenge, McDaniel's chapter hopes to work with local community leaders to conduct public awareness campaigns, to provide "information, training and resources," and to "organize events and challenge residents" to upgrade their emergency readiness.
The goal is for more local residents to have formal first-aid and CPR training and to be certified as official Red Cross responders in an emergency, as well as to increase the number of families and businesses with emergency plans.
Lakso noted that the program would dovetail well with the council's 2007 goal of "getting our citizens and staff ready for emergencies."
"The whole goal is for every citizen, individually to get a plan and get involved."
The council took no formal action on the matter, although Lakso indicated that a related council resolution might be in order in the future.
Redevelopment Grant Application Authorized
The council unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the city to apply for a state grant to help finance Centerville's upcoming downtown redevelopment project.
No dollar amount was included in the resolution, which, among other things, specifies the city's qualifications for the state Department of Employment and Economic Development grant program.
The grant money, if approved, would be used for Phase I of Centerville's downtown redevelopment, scheduled to begin later this year.
The city's grant application was scheduled to be submitted to the Employments and Economic Development Department by January 31.