Page 34 - LDC FlipBook demo

Above, left to right: Demolition of an older floodgate takes place near the parking lot for the trail head. Construction of the current floodgate at the end of Walnut Street.
By the end of 1991, they were able to report that there was $841 left over from their proposed budget for the year, but in January of 1992 the financial report reflected only $189 in the checking account.
Increasingly critical inspections by the Corps of Engineers highlighted the need for extremely expensive repairs, and the District won a respite when they were awarded a Community Focus Fund grant for $454,000 to replace aging and occasionally inoperative pumps.
In January 1993, Debby Rainey was appointed secretary- treasurer to the board, which consisted of Lawrenceburg Mayor Don Combs, Lawrenceburg Council members Don Prakel and Mario Todd, Lawrenceburg township trustee, Jerome “Tony” Gilb, and Greendale Council President Jack Braun.
That summer, a possible solution to LCD’s financial problems surfaced with the advent of riverboat gaming. The city of Lawrenceburg approached the board with a proposal to purchase 10 acres of land to accommodate the riverboat facility.
By July of 1994, the financial future was looking
so rosy that Greendale’s Jack Braun was suggesting
that the District be extended to include US 50 east to I-275. If approval could be obtained from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), revenue from gaming could be used to raise the railroad tracks on the east side of US 50 to form a new levee. The proposed levee improvements would allow flood protections for the expanding business areas along the highway. The proposal was approved.
By August of 1995, a special meeting was held to discuss a temporary riverboat dock at the foot of Walnut Street, which would later become a permanent riverfront attraction. A new forty foot flood gate would be
installed for easy access to the new installation.
Heated discussions and questions about the legality of LCD Board membership led to an entirely new board, including property owners in the actual protected
area. In September of 1995, the county commissioners appointed James Knippenburg, Robert Mollaun, William Jackson, Doug Hedrick and William Thomas.
The process did not go smoothly.