The Clarksdale’s current Board of Mayor and Commissioners voted this week to never close Hicks Road despite concerns that traffic and the trouble it brings might endanger Clarksdale Public Utilities’ (CPU) ability to provide power to the entire community.
CPU General Manager Curtis Boschert spoke to commissioners about a recent incident where gunfire from cars speeding down Hicks Avenue, that splits CPU’s substation, could have knocked out power to Clarksdale and cost the utility dearly.
Boschert asked commissioners to consider closing Hicks Avenue from the railroad to Center Street and pointed out the idea has been brought up before.
Boschert was the Clarksdale City Board Attorney before taking on the job at CPU and said closing Hicks Avenue was discussed under the tenure of former Mayor’s Henry Espy and Bill Luckett.
“The incident we’re talking about saw two cars racing down Hicks Avenue with people in both cars shooting at each other,” said Boschert. “While our first concern is someone getting hit with a bullet, if they were to shoot a transformer or other pieces of critical infrastructure at the South Plant it could shut down electricity to practically all of Clarksdale.
“And it could shut it down for a long, long time,” Boschert added.
Ward 1 Commissioner Bo Plunk, who has been on the city board 16 years, said he remembered the issue being discussed before and the idea was to build a new road in the area to route traffic to Sunflower Lane housing project and about 50 houses in that south Clarksdale neighborhood.
“And when we started talking about it people came up here raising all kinds of Cain, saying they didn’t want it,” said Plunk. “They were worried about fire protection and we were worried about the cost of putting the road in.”
In an unusual move, Espy declared he was amending the agenda and asked a motion be made to never close Hicks Avenue unless a street “10-times better” is built to serve the area.
Espy got out of his seat went over to the City Clerk’s table and watched as the motion was penned. Espy’s motion was voted on by the board. Espy said the vote was unanimous.
A bullet piercing a working electric transformer would allow cooling oil to leak and probably cause a fire with very hazardous smoke.
Boschert said there is a two-year waiting list to obtain one of the larger transformers and a 30-day wait for smaller ones. He said the cost of a larger transformer would be about $500,000. He said cars have crashed into fences and also equipment at the substation and an employee was shot and killed one night more than a decade ago.
Boschert said he knows of no other substation in Mississippi that has a public road right down the middle.
Discussion also centered on events after 911 where the Department of Homeland Security and Congressman Bennie Thompson discussed grants to make critical infrastructure, such as power stations more secure. Plans were even drawn up with a new road in mind, but those grants were never obtained and the idea was put on the shelf.
Plunk asked Boschert if CPU was willing to pay some of the cost to build a new road around the substation.
Boschert said he was there to ask the city to consider closing Hicks Avenue and would be glad to carry the idea of a new road back to his board of directors. Boschert said only his board had the authority to allocate that kind of money.
“I do know CPU’s job is to provide dependable electricity, clean water and sewer service to Clarksdale and you are in control of the streets,” said Boschert. “We don’t build streets.”
Boschert said he had not cavalierly dismissed the concerns of neighbors around CPU’s South Substation, but again said this problem could dramatically affect Clarksdale if it was not addressed.
“I agree that this should be one of the top five things this board needs to be aware of,” said Espy. “Let’s not repeat the failure or our forefathers. But here we are again.”
