By SABRINA GARRETT
The Wilson Post

Lebanon City Council will hold a special called meeting at 5:30 tonight for the second reading of an ordinance councilors hope will address the drainage and flooding issues in each of the six wards.

After hearing complaints from the citizens during Tuesday’s regular meeting, councilors voted last night to withdraw $600,000 from the reserve fund – which will give roughly $100,000 to be used for projects in their respective wards.

“Last night, out of the blue, we had overwhelming support to show the citizens that the council is concerned about the drainage issues,” Lebanon Mayor Philip Craighead said, adding that while there has always been a list of needs, the city has “never had the money to go and resolve all of them.”

“Now, what we are going to do is look at these projects and find one project or more in every ward, so there is some sort of relief,” he said. “This is a commitment down payment to the citizens that we are serious and do want to address the issues in our community.”

Craighead continued by saying that if the sales tax increase passes on a referendum on the Nov. 6 ballot, even more work could be done. “We would be able to address more issues like roads, paving and sidewalks,” he said.

The motion to withdraw $600,000 from the reserve fund was made by Ward 3 Councilor Rob Cesternino. “Let’s get it done,” he said.

Commissioner of Finance Russell Lee instructed the council that in order to move the money out of that fund, it must pass two readings, with the second reading taking place tonight.

Craighead said, if passed, each ward will receive about $125,000 in projects. “It would be that $100,000 from the reserve fund, plus some of the $150,000 we originally budgeted for.”

Staff Writer Sabrina Garrett can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .