Page 26 - LDC FlipBook demo

Levee Building Complete. Administration Continues.
By 1944, the flood Control tax had been cut to 26 cents per $100 assessed valuation, bringing in an estimated $26,300.
$4500 was earmarked for maintenance of the levee, and the rest was set aside for debt reduction, bond interest and personal services.
Each year, the Flood Control District advertised for bids and rented out farmland, which they owned near the levee.
The memory of 1937 was still fresh in the minds of residents and business people when the Ohio passed flood stage and reached 64 feet early in March 1945.
Despite a government inspection that declared that
the new levee was safe, a mass evacuation began. The Seagram Distillery loaned its trucks so merchants could move their wares, and residents began streaming toward higher ground. Floodgates at US 50 and the railroads were closed; schools suspended classes and most businesses were also closed.
The Post Office ensconced in its building on Short Street, stayed put.
The only way in and out of Lawrenceburg was State Road 56 (now State Road 1).
Mayor Robert Baker issued a statement that there was no food or water shortage.
The levee passed its first major test, holding back the fourth worst flood in history. People and businesses that had moved out Tuesday and Wednesday, March 6 and 7, began moving back on Thursday, declaring that the $2.6 million levee had already paid for itself.
The schools reopened the following Monday.
The only effect of the flood seemed to be seep water, which had crept into basements in Lawrenceburg.
In 1947, the minutes note that members of the Flood Control Board were John Gross, Charles A. Lowe, Robert Baker, John D. Roush and Schwing, with Walter Decker as supervisor of the levee.
In 1948, Gordon Teaney became a new member, representing Greendale.
That same year, preparations were being made for construction of the I&M power plant, and the Flood Control District sold 50 acres of land for that project.
The total budget for 1949 was $33,221.45, with a tax rate, assessed against property protected by the levee,
at 27 cents. With the funds from the sale of land, the tax rate for 1950 dipped to 20 cents.
It went down again in 1951 to 19 cents, mainly because of an increase in assessed valuation.
State road 48 was under construction in 1950 and the District took advantage of available fill-dirt, which was deposited in the ponding area between Tate Street and US 50. Additional relief wells were also in the works.
In February of 1951 Floyd C. Dils became a member of the District board, and the minutes note that they were still maintaining sand piles near the levee in case of emergency.
Placing fill in the ponding area met with stern disapproval by the US Army Corps of Engineers, who demanded that the fill be removed, and set a deadline of July 15 for a reply from the Flood Control District. There is no record of whether or not they complied, but later that year they discussed placing topsoil over the fill in the ponding area.
That year marks the first discussion of placing benches on the levee.
Levee employees had joined the same union as city employees, and their pay rose from $1.15 to $1.25 per hour.
The tax rate for 1952 sank to 15 cents, where it remained for the next two years.
In January of 1952, the Board of Directors consisted of Ted Fitch, John F. Braun, Charles A. Lowe, F.C. Dils and William Kerr.
Tentative plans for a toll bridge over the Ohio River at Lawrenceburg called for sinking support piers in the levee. The project was referred to the Corps
of Engineers.
Members in January 1956 were Loren Edwards, Mayor; John C. Barth, Greendale; Carl Haag, Township Trustee; Charles Hornbach and William M. Turner.
In June, Mr. Barth resigned, and his seat was taken by Clifford Romines.
The Corps of Engineers conducted a routine inspection during the summer of 1956, and issued a glowing report, finding the levee “in good condition” with a “well planned and executed maintenance program.”
The following year, the Indiana Tax Commission reduced the rate to 14 cents.