Covington residents vote in favor of parcel fee for drainage improvements

Residents in Northpark Estates subdivision south of Covington voted Tuesday in favor of a $200 a year parcel fee to fund neighborhood drainage improvements.

In what was one of Tuesday’s smallest ballot items, proponents asked and received approval to bill the 20-year parcel feel expected to generate about $59,600 yearly. The measure passed 253 to 170, or 60 percent in favor, according to preliminary results from the Secretary of State’s Office. The money will fix repairs to a dam in the subdivision’s retention pond as well as clean and expand roadside ditches that at times tend to overflow.

Plans call to use the income to finance an $180,000 bond to repair the pond, ditches and other future work. It will also eliminate a $50 yearly drainage fee for homeowners.