Mayor Diane Delaware asks that citizens respect the city ordinance to place loose leaves in garbage bags, reflecting on how the inner city hasn’t recently flooded due to clogged drains.
“Downtown Yazoo City has not flooded,” she said, during the most recent Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting. “We have had weather conditions that would have in fact caused it. But it has not flooded.”
Delaware said the reason the downtown area of the city has not flooded is because the city has consistently cleaned the drains out in the canal and other similar places.
“We will continue to clean those drains out in the canal,” Delaware said. “We will not allow them to fill up. So it shall become a regiment, a routine, to keep those drains clean.”
Delaware said she has also begun personally inspecting the canal to ensure the drains remain open. In the past, littering and dumping contributed heavily to clogged drains. City workers have uncovered anything from trash to televisions and couches in the canal.
“This morning I inspected them,” Delaware said. “One of the areas we had cleaned out had begun to fill up again with dirt and mud. We will get it cleaned out.”
Delaware said she was contacted by the local post office, praising the city’s efforts to eliminate flooding.
“They were accustomed to getting ready for the rain,” she said. “And now they don’t get ready for the rain anymore.”
Despite the recent praise, Delaware said city workers should remain vigilant.
“Let me just say to public works that we must focus our attention on this problem,” Delaware said. “We must make sure we keep the drains clean. We must make sure we keep the leaves out of the gutters and drains. We have done it in the past, and we can continue to do it.”
Delaware is also asking citizens to abide by the city ordinance and place their loose leaves in garbage bags.
“That is a city ordinance, and we are asking you to do it,” Delaware said. “Yes, we do have a leaf machine, and we will continue to use it when it is working. But our ordinance says leaves go in garbage bags, and we would hope that you would want to help us keep Yazoo City beautiful during the period of this year.”
Alderman Gregory Robertson said he had received complaints just prior to the board meeting, surrounding the bagging of loose leaves.
