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Thomas Kinlaw III waited over five years to get federal funding to upgrade the sewer system in Port Arthur’s third district -- an area hit hard by Tropical Storm Harvey and other subsequent rainstorms.
The District 3 city council member was notified last week that the city received $16.9 million in funding. And earlier this week, he wrapped up a visit to Washington, D.C., negotiating additional funding for Port Arthur and Southeast Texas.
“I’m happy. The District 3 community is happy. It’s a long time coming because of all the growth development in District 3. The water moves faster, so we had to find ways to address that effectively as a council and as a district,” Kinlaw said. “We’ve got to continue progressing… (and keep) finding new innovative ways to continue that process... District 3 has the most development. It has the highest population in the city of Port Arthur. You have your most expensive homes in District 3. So, I had to continue fighting for that area.”
Now that the city secured federal dollars, the project can proceed to the final review stage with the expectation to begin accepting construction bids by late May.
The money will help upgrade the city’s storm sewer system along Jimmy Johnson Boulevard and 9th Avenue. It’ll also pay for drainage improvements for the Stonegate Court area, as well as a stretch of Oakmont Drive between Birchwood Triangle and Jimmy Johnson Boulevard, which also extends to Golfhill Drive.
The city is working with a recovery consultant in Adora Corporation, which is overseeing the project's design work and and coordinating with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ensure the benefits justify the costs.
"We're helping move water off of the roadways so that water doesn't pile up and it has a place to go. It's connected to the ponding that has been expanded in the golf course area. That gives a place for the water to go until it can get into the drainage district canals," said Craig Taffaro, Adora's director of federal programs. "The drainage district improvements go hand-in-hand with the city-specific improvements. One doesn't reach the same benefit without the other."
An extra 26.63 acre-feet of detention capacity was added to the Babe Zaharias Golf Course’s existing ponds for when future storms arise. The Birchwood Triangle area is also just west of the golf course, another important facility Kinlaw made sure to preserve.
“Our golf course is one of the most played golf courses in Southeast Texas. It’s gonna help them, it’s gonna help the communities, it’ll help the homeowners in that area,” he said. “You have multiple hotels there in my district.”
Matt.Hollinshead@beaumontenterprise.com
twitter.com/MattH_717