City Council Can Vote On Bellflower Retaining Basin Tonight

The Mentor Schools Board of Education behind Bellflower Elementary.

City Council will now vote on the proposed lease during its meeting 7 p.m. today at .

The proposed basin would prevent Two Town Ditch, which drains about 800 acres in Ward 3, from overflowing during heavy rains.

"I believe (the basin's) saving the future for the Silver Mound and St. James area," said Ward 3 Councilman Ed Walsh at the meeting in which the School Board approved the lease.

The lease would only cost the city $1 per year.

Additionally, the school will still be able to use the property most of the time because the basin is only expected to fill during the heaviest of rains.

If Council were to approve the lease tonight, work could not begin on the basin immediately. First, the city needs to procure the grant money to make the basin.

Before the meeting, City Council will have a work session at 6 p.m. in City Hall to discuss the 2012 budget.

The agenda and complete legislation for tonight's meeting, including the proposed lease between the school district and city is attached to this story as a PDF.