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On March 2, 1997, with the Ohio River rising rapidly
and flood conditions expected, the LCD Board held an emergency meeting.They voted to close the flood gate at the end of High Street, using help from the Lawrenceburg city crew. Flood gates at both ends of the CSX railroad tracks and at Argosy Casino were partially installed.
Complete installation of the two railroad gates would have taken ten hours for each of them, and railroad tracks had to be cut.
The river crested at 64.6 inches, the highest in more than 30 years.
The aging levee and pump system held firm, and the Indiana Emergency Management Agency reported that the flood protection was “in good shape”.
Gary Pence of SEMA also announced that the railroad embankment east along US 50 “seems to be in pretty good condition.”
Later that month, ambitious plans were made to upgrade Lawrenceburg’s flood protection system, utilizing $15 million in gaming revenue.
$750,000 was set aside to replace the aging and ineffective pump house, along with $35,000 for work on the pumps, $500,000 for floodgates and $120,000 to fill the groundhog holes.
In addition to the big projects, there were ongoing purchases of machinery for maintenance and mowing.
Applications were in the works for a federal grant, which would pay for 75 percent of the pump house work, and discussions were beginning about a new riverbank park.
By September of 1997, the proposed tax rate for 1998 dropped from $1.19 to 80 cents.
By October, 19,500 tons of riprap had been placed in vulnerable areas of the levee, with at least 12,000 additional tons to be added.
By July 1998, and after lengthy talks and planning, LCD signed an agreement with the City of Lawrenceburg, to create and pave a walking trail along the top of the levee. The levee walk gives citizens and visitors to enjoy the river, and visually appreciate the levee’s protection for the city.
In September, finances had improved to the point
that the request for a tax rate for 1999 had dropped to five cents.
John Hayman was sworn in as a member of the board, replacing Roger Woodfill, who had resigned to become temporary superintendent of the district.
Further public enhancements to the riverfront came closer to reality when a contract was awarded to construct a park plaza at a bid price of $556,220, with fifty percent of the cost to be paid by LCD and fifty percent paid by the city of Lawrenceburg.
A contest among school children led to the name “Lawrenceburg Community Park,” with first prize going to Leah Clark.
Now that abundant funding was available, the spring
of 1999 was exceptionally busy. LCD hired two badly needed additional employees.Vic Greive became the superintendent, and a plan surfaced to extend the District to include the US 50 area east of Lawrenceburg I-275, mostly in Greendale.
The proposal called for upgrading the existing, but no longer used, railroad to meet flood control standards.
If the District were to be extended into Greendale, two more members would be added to represent the new area.
By July of 1999, an elated Board of Finance was able to consider investing $2 to $3 million in money market funds for future use.
LCD also agreed to spend up to $950,000 to help the city purchase the railroad property which ran along the inside of the levee.
In September, Dearborn Circuit Court Judge James D. Humphrey approved a petition to expand the district to include the east US 50 area, and in December, the city of Greendale approved a $3.5 million budget for levee construction.
Dave Lorey became the first Greendale member of the board, with a second to be appointed by County Commissioners.
Conservancy District real estate taxes were completely eliminated for the year 2000.
In January of that year, Bill Haag was appointed as the second Greendale representative.
Lawrenceburg promised to provide $1 million for the Greendale levee extension, along with $400,000 from Dearborn County, and LCD agreed to provide another $1 million.
Ambitious plans for the Park Plaza brought cost estimates to $1 million for Phase I and $1.6 million for Phase II.
Final Inspections were done on the new pump houses and the new floodgate, which had a swing gate instead of the cumbersome piece-by-piece construction of the existing ones.