Albany officials debate walking trail as South Madison Street-Alice Avenue drainage project moves forward

ALBANY — As heavy equipment reshapes land for a long-awaited drainage project in south Albany, Ward 6 City Commissioner Diana Brown is pushing the city to make sure the neighborhood gets more than a holding pond.

Brown spoke at length during Tuesday’s Albany City Commission meeting about plans for the South Madison Street and Alice Avenue area, where the city is working to address localized flooding that residents say has plagued the neighborhood for years.

At issue is a walking trail Brown said was included in an earlier concept for the project but may no longer be constructed because of funding.

The discussion also brought several community and church representatives before commissioners and revealed an unusual history behind the property. The land was originally owned by Dougherty County but was subsequently transferred to the city. The city later sold it to the adjacent Third Kiokee Missionary Baptist Church but retained drainage rights. The land is now being considered for acquisition by the city as part of the drainage improvements.

Brown said she began working on the issue after taking office and learning more about the severity and history of flooding in the area. She described residents dealing with water in alleys and other parts of the neighborhood after heavy rains.

An early proposal presented to her, Brown said, envisioned more than a functional stormwater facility. It included a holding pond with a walking track around it, parking and security fencing.

Brown said she then took that proposal to church leaders whose property is affected by the project, and the walking track remained part of the concept discussed during those early conversations.

Now, she said, she has been told there is not enough money for the walking track.

During a presentation to the commission, a city employee said dirt already being excavated from the South Madison-Alice holding pond site was being used at the nearby Henderson Gym project, where unsuitable soil had created a need for additional fill.

Brown objected to the prospect of constructing a holding pond in the middle of the neighborhood without the improvements residents had previously been shown, framing the issue as part of a broader concern about investment in Ward 6.

“We might be at the bottom, but we don’t want to live at the bottom,” Brown said in discussion with other council members.

She said Ward 6 has been underserved when opportunities arise to improve infrastructure and neighborhoods, claiming, “Over 30 years we’ve been ignored.”

Brown also raised concerns about securing the pond, pointing to a recent tragedy in the community in which a child diagnosed with autism drowned in the area. She cited the incident while emphasizing the importance of the security fencing that she said was included in the earlier proposal.

Church leader Steven Dudley told commissioners the congregation does not want to prevent the city from solving the neighborhood’s drainage problems.

Dudley said the church is willing to discuss selling property needed for the improvements back to the city, while seeking fair market value and preserving enough space for overflow parking during church services, funerals and other events.

“We don’t want to stand in the way of the improvements being made,” Dudley told commissioners.

He said the remaining portion of the property appeared capable of accommodating the church’s parking needs if an agreement can be reached.

Dudley also told commissioners an appraisal process was underway to establish fair market value for the property, with the results expected to be communicated to church leadership.

Mayor Bo Durrough told church representatives the city wanted to be sensitive both to the congregation and the surrounding neighborhood and suggested there could be alternatives to an outright purchase of all the property, including an arrangement under which the church retained ownership of some land while allowing recreational use.

No final property agreement was reached during the discussion.

Another community member provided commissioners with the history of the property, tracing it to the aftermath of the 1994 flood.

According to his account, the land was once owned by Dougherty County before being transferred to the city. The church initially leased the field from Albany, paying $100 for a 10-year period while taking responsibility for maintaining and insuring the property.

The lease was later renewed, he said, before the city ultimately sold the property to the church.

The sale, however, included a provision preserving the city’s right to use the property for drainage purposes if necessary — a provision that has become relevant as Albany works to solve the area’s flooding problems.

The mayor appeared to review deed information during the meeting, with church representatives stating the property had been sold outright for $4,000.

The precise nature and extent of the city’s drainage rights were not established during the discussion.

Brown received support for the walking-trail concept from Commissioner Chad Warbington.

Warbington acknowledged that Tuesday’s discussion was the first time he had heard all the details surrounding the South Madison-Alice project but said his experience with another stormwater project demonstrated what a walking trail can add to a neighborhood.

Warbington said he previously pushed for a walking trail around a stormwater pond in an area he represented. The proposal narrowly received enough commission support at the time, he said, but the resulting trail has become a popular destination.

“Just a simple walking trail adds a lot of community, a lot of connections,” Warbington said.

He said the trail gives residents a place to walk and expressed support for working through the remaining details to improve the South Madison-Alice site for the surrounding neighborhood.

The mayor said Albany has spent recent years tackling its larger combined sewer problems and is now addressing localized flooding affecting residents in areas across the city.

For Brown, however, addressing the flooding and improving the neighborhood do not have to be competing goals.

Her argument Tuesday centered on preserving the broader vision residents and church leaders were originally shown: a drainage solution that protects homes and streets while creating a safer, more attractive space the neighborhood can use.

The commission did not take final action on the walking trail Tuesday, leaving unresolved whether funding can be found to restore it to the project.