Turkey Creek digital water mapping project completed

TURKEY CREEK - The Turkey Creek Village Council, during the board’s August 19, regular meeting discussed the completion of Mayor Heather Cloud’s water system map project. Cloud stated that this project has been a passion of hers since she took office. She stated the old maps were outdated and the village needed an updated and a digital version of the village’s main asset, its water system, in order for employees to be able to locate problem areas more quickly and efficiently. The maps will also allow for current and future employees to have a quicker emergency response time and the maps can continuously be updated as needed moving forward into many future generations. Adam Janet was the project coordinator and he showed the council members examples of the maps that can be pulled up through the computer program. With the specialized program, the maps can be pulled up and further broken down by street and line locations, miles, as well as line sizes, such as one or two inch lines, in order to quickly find trouble areas. The maps program also holds a lot of other important data from the tax assessor’s office, including road names and property lines for residents of the village. Janet noted the maps show all village property as far north as Johnson’s Landing, as far south as the LaHaye fields, as far east as St. Landry and as far west as Crooked Creek.
Janet also discussed issues with the sewer system. He noted the emergency project has been delayed many times by the company contracted to do the job. The company is financially committed to the project but is behind on other projects. Cloud, Janet and Village Attorney Greg Vidrine agreed the company needs to be sure to get the job started or they will go with someone else so that the important village project is no longer on the back burner. The last few contacts with the company led to them saying they will begin in a few weeks, but that has now happened several times and Vidrine will send a letter to hopefully get the project started.
Derek and Leila Thrasher addressed the council about the maintenance and use of the ball fields, and Cloud said it was heartwarming to see the community come together to help clean up the park out of the kindness of their hearts. She stated a non-profit LLC was formed to help bring travel softball teams to Turkey Creek for tournaments. She stated they were happy to voluntarily work on the fields and make sure they are up to tournament standards. She added hosting 10-team tournaments would mean revenue for the village and was asking the mayor, council and local businesses for their support, as they would also benefit from people visiting the area for the tournaments. Cloud stated a deposit for field rental would be required and those using the field would be responsible for cleaning up after an event. She added that discretion should be used by renters in the event of inclement weather on the date of a scheduled event. Leila stated she could donate an old storage building for storage at the park or as a concession stand. She also said that in the future, she would like to have scoreboards and a place for scorekeepers and volunteers to sit during tournaments.
In other business, the council:
•Approved payment for Village Clerk Melissa Ferguson’s mileage.
•Approved the minutes of the July 22, regular meeting.
•Approved expenditures for the month of July.
•Approved utility adjustments.
•Heard the financial report from Ferguson.