The Livingston City Council is beginning to formulate a plan in the event of repeated flooding in parts of the city.
According to Livingston Mayor Curtis Hayes, the city wants to be prepared in case they continue to see repeats the type of flooding it experienced in 2019 around the bypass and Highway 52.
“We are looking at ways that if this was to happen again, if this is more of the norm, then we want to be able to buy the properties and and have more green space for the city, and not have any interruptions of residents or business,” Hayes said.
Hayes said even if Livingston were to ever look into buying any affected properties, the city’s hands are tied with what it can do with them.
“According to what TEMA told us we can make green space out of it or we can make a small park out of it,” Hayes said.
“That’s about all we could do with it. It could never be developed for business, retail, or industry, anything like that.”
Even with the recent progress the city has made in the process, Livingston is still a long way from even thinking about buying any properties.
“We are just now in the talking stages,” Hayes said. “We have had no appraisals out at all. We don’t even know if anyone’s interested, but we’re just entertaining the idea.”
If Livingston gets to the point of looking to buying flood affected properties, the city is eligible to apply for a grant through the federal government’s Hazardous Mitigation Grant Program.
-Brian Wilmoth
