Savannah City Council set to vote on stormwater drainage fee this week

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Savannah City Council is set to decide on a stormwater drainage fee that the mayor says will generate much-needed funding to curb flooding.

City council talked about the fee last year, but decided to put it to the side. This year, it’s back on the agenda, and Thursday, the council will decide whether the fee is passed, or tabled again.

“We understand that this isn’t an easy investment to make, but I believe it’s the right one to make,” said Nick Palumbo, District 4 Alderman.

Alderman Nick Palumbo’s district is an area where a hard rain can cause big issues for local businesses like in Habersham Village. This is a topic especially close to home for Palumbo, who was in New Orleans during the devastation of Hurricane Katrina

“I’ve seen the real time impact of what happens when a community doesn’t invest in their city and just tries to kick the can,” said Palumbo.

Palumbo showed WTOC a place that’s coined as “Lake Lamara” to residents of midtown. The drains fill up, water pools on one side of the road, and it even inhibits the nearby elementary school from having its designated parent pickup.

Palumbo: “They were like no, we can’t do pick up or drop off, we’ll have to meet on the other side of school at this tiny little roundabout.”

Reporter: “And how often would that happen?”

Palumbo: “Once a month, couple times a month, whenever it rains.”

The mayor has advocated in favor of the fee for months, and spoke about how the city has received calls and that now is the time to bring it to fruition.

“I’m hoping the council members won’t flake out on us now,” said Mayor Van Johnson. “The fact is that when we get those calls and we’re yelling downtown ‘we have to do something about this’ well here’s the opportunity for us to do something about it.”

Palumbo noted that this fee would cost the average homeowner $5 a month, but cost will vary depending on size of land.