Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're so thankful that maryor Creig Greenberg could join us
today here. Mayor Craig, and I know that you've been
doing a lot of work. I've been following you all
day and all the weekend on eggs. Tell us where
we are today if you don't mind.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Well, good morning, Tony. The good news is the sun
is shining, the rain has stopped, and I think we're
through the worst that we know of, and the flooding
appears to be mostly contained to around the Ohio River.
So while we certainly had some flooded areas inland from
the Ohio over the weekend, and there might continue to
be a few spots that received during the day, our
(00:36):
attention is now mostly focused on the areas around the
Ohio River. It's going to actually rise about three more
feet over the next two days before it crests. But
the conditions that you see at the river here today,
they're going to mostly be with us all week this week,
and that's why Thunder of Louisville had to be canceled.
We just couldn't do that safely. And the Great Lawn
(00:57):
won't be a great lawn come Saturday.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
When you were negotiating with Matt Gibson, the head of KDF.
Was it he who brought that up or you had
to bring it up or just it was pretty easy
determination Matt.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
There was no negotiation. Matt reached out to me. They
you know, they monitor all of the conditions every year.
Matt and the team at the Kentucky Derby Festival. They
are pros and they can make very difficult things happen.
They're used to dealing with curveballs, they're used to dealing
with challenging situations. But this was a situation that not
(01:32):
even the most optimistic projections would put this in the
safe zone. And safety has to come first and KDF
Kentucky Derby Festivals, safety comes first and everything they do.
So he reached out to me, and you know we
all went from there supporting and there are and they
just give you some insight here. You know, you need
in order to have an airshow over the river, you
(01:54):
have to have divers in the river, and in this
at this height of the river and at this speed,
that's not safe. And in order to get the fireworks here,
you have to load them on and off well the
barge loading areas that they usually do that on early
in the week starting today. On a normal thunder week,
all of those docks are underwater. They're inaccessible to even
get the fireworks on. And the list goes on and
(02:16):
on and on, including the Great Water. The Great Lawn
is going to be underwater as along as well as
much of the rest of the riverfront. So it was
it was an unfortunate decision. It was a difficult decision,
but it was really easy. It's difficult because it feels
bad and we know the impact that means on the community,
but from a safety perspective, there was no choice.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
In Frankfort, it looks like the river or the water's
going to crest it today. Here is it still Wednesday?
And is it still about thirty six point twenty feet?
Speaker 2 (02:46):
That is right, So all of that is correct. Frankfurt
I got a notification this morning that they crested overnight.
Our crest is expected to be about three feet higher
than it is and that's on Wednesday. That's really both
for above the locks and below the locks as well.
So regardless of where you are along the river, we
(03:06):
can expect these conditions to remain relatively the same. The
floodwaters will then start going down and in the meantime,
we're turning our attention to debris removal, whether it was
from the harboll storms and tornadoes that came through town
last week, flooding in other parts of the city, and
then eventually once the river goes down, there's a lot
of debris that's going to be left.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
We know a lot about what's happening here downtown is
where it's going to crest in parts of Oldham County,
But what about on around the bend, if you will,
In the west end, we already know that Shawnee golf
Course is underwater as we're talking. Is that correct this morning?
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Yeah, that's correct. I was at that Shawnee golf course yesterday,
and you know it, most of the golf course. I
don't want to it probably wouldn't shock me if eighty
percent of the golf course is underwater right now. I
don't know that that's an exact percentage, but just from
what I could tell, it was mostly underwater, you know,
the west end and the southwest part of the community,
all along the river there, that is, the areas that
(04:04):
are in the low lying areas or underwater. I was
with some friends last night that live in the west
end and their home backs up to the Ohio. They're
going to be okay, it's not going to rise to
the level of those homes. And then I was in
far southwestern the fact of that as far southwest as
you could go in Jefferson County yesterday where our Pond
Creek flood pump station is with MSD, and there they
(04:25):
pump one point eight million gallons of water a day
into the Ohio River to get it from one side
of the levee to the other. And that helps keep
south and southwest Jefferson County dry. So the levee system works,
the pumps work. This was would have been a lot
worse were it not for a lot of the investments
that have been made over the last several decades in
(04:47):
our city.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
If people want to know road conditions, how do they
check that out?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
So you can go to our web page at Louisville,
Ky dot gov. You can see all the road closures.
We're probably getting to the point where most of the
roads that are going to be closed are closed. I continue,
Please do not drive around the barricades. Use caution. The
Third Street ramp for people coming downtown. The Third Street
ramp is closed right now, so you've got to find
(05:14):
a different way into downtown. That whole area around the
gulfs House, River Road, four Street, Third Street, all the
way to Waterfront that's totally underwater right now. Floodgates are up.
No one's seen these floodgates. We have not had to
put up since twenty eighteen, so we've got the protection
in place.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Any changes since twenty eighteen of obviously trying to have
some kind of more water resistance or is it just
business as usual just because happen.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
MSD has improved some of the you know, some of
the machinery that they have, and so they're constantly replacing
that because some of the equipment they have in their
flood plump stations and otherwise as old. So they've made
some improvements. But this flood pump station I was at
yes esterday, I believe is the newest one and that
was installed in nineteen eighty nine, so it's still generally
the system. It's just continuous maintenance and upkeep. And also,
(06:08):
I will tell you though, the other big thing that's
been made is there have been a lot of efforts
at retention ponds all around the city. Those have helped tremendously.
They've held well. MSD has done some other big projects
like the one that just got done a year or
so ago along Lexington Road in that whole Grinstead area
with giant underground pipes. All of those investments that you
(06:31):
see MSD working on during the course of the year,
those are built to help when situations like this happen.
So it definitely would have been worse where these investments
not continue to be made in the infrastructure.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Yeah, indeed, I can't imagine where are old you've been
as well? All right, clean up? Does FEMA arrive anytime soon?
And are you going to ask for the citizen ry
to citizenry to help assist cleaning things up?
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Well, we certainly will surpass the the you know, the
amount that we can be eligible for FEMA reimbursement, But
we're sort of on our own tone. So we're gonna
we're gonna be working a partners you know, mostly doing
it with our public works team and others that can
work on debris removal. The firefighters are going to be
helping to hose some things down once waters received. We
also have a great partnership with the state of Kentucky
(07:21):
and so for things like you know, the highway when
the Third Street ramp is impacted. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
has been a great partner of ours and they're they're
involved in this as well. I've been in constant communication
with Governor Basher and legislative leaders throughout this entire thing,
and so we're working very closely and hope to get
reimbursed from FEMA, but most of the work in terms
(07:44):
of the cleanup is going to be local people.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
I appreciate your time as always, mister Mary, thanks for
joining us today on such a busy schedule for you.
So take care and be saying.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Take care Tony, all right, all right, to take care,
all
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Right, maryor Craig Greenberg here on kentuk Ada's warning News
Scottish Chill standa by Sports comes your way next
We're so thankful that maryor Creig Greenberg could join us
today here. Mayor Craig, and I know that you've been
doing a lot of work. I've been following you all
day and all the weekend on eggs. Tell us where
we are today if you don't mind.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Well, good morning, Tony. The good news is the sun
is shining, the rain has stopped, and I think we're
through the worst that we know of, and the flooding
appears to be mostly contained to around the Ohio River.
So while we certainly had some flooded areas inland from
the Ohio over the weekend, and there might continue to
be a few spots that received during the day, our
(00:36):
attention is now mostly focused on the areas around the
Ohio River. It's going to actually rise about three more
feet over the next two days before it crests. But
the conditions that you see at the river here today,
they're going to mostly be with us all week this week,
and that's why Thunder of Louisville had to be canceled.
We just couldn't do that safely. And the Great Lawn
(00:57):
won't be a great lawn come Saturday.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
When you were negotiating with Matt Gibson, the head of KDF.
Was it he who brought that up or you had
to bring it up or just it was pretty easy
determination Matt.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
There was no negotiation. Matt reached out to me. They
you know, they monitor all of the conditions every year.
Matt and the team at the Kentucky Derby Festival. They
are pros and they can make very difficult things happen.
They're used to dealing with curveballs, they're used to dealing
with challenging situations. But this was a situation that not
(01:32):
even the most optimistic projections would put this in the
safe zone. And safety has to come first and KDF
Kentucky Derby Festivals, safety comes first and everything they do.
So he reached out to me, and you know we
all went from there supporting and there are and they
just give you some insight here. You know, you need
in order to have an airshow over the river, you
(01:54):
have to have divers in the river, and in this
at this height of the river and at this speed,
that's not safe. And in order to get the fireworks here,
you have to load them on and off well the
barge loading areas that they usually do that on early
in the week starting today. On a normal thunder week,
all of those docks are underwater. They're inaccessible to even
get the fireworks on. And the list goes on and
(02:16):
on and on, including the Great Water. The Great Lawn
is going to be underwater as along as well as
much of the rest of the riverfront. So it was
it was an unfortunate decision. It was a difficult decision,
but it was really easy. It's difficult because it feels
bad and we know the impact that means on the community,
but from a safety perspective, there was no choice.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
In Frankfort, it looks like the river or the water's
going to crest it today. Here is it still Wednesday?
And is it still about thirty six point twenty feet?
Speaker 2 (02:46):
That is right, So all of that is correct. Frankfurt
I got a notification this morning that they crested overnight.
Our crest is expected to be about three feet higher
than it is and that's on Wednesday. That's really both
for above the locks and below the locks as well.
So regardless of where you are along the river, we
(03:06):
can expect these conditions to remain relatively the same. The
floodwaters will then start going down and in the meantime,
we're turning our attention to debris removal, whether it was
from the harboll storms and tornadoes that came through town
last week, flooding in other parts of the city, and
then eventually once the river goes down, there's a lot
of debris that's going to be left.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
We know a lot about what's happening here downtown is
where it's going to crest in parts of Oldham County,
But what about on around the bend, if you will,
In the west end, we already know that Shawnee golf
Course is underwater as we're talking. Is that correct this morning?
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Yeah, that's correct. I was at that Shawnee golf course yesterday,
and you know it, most of the golf course. I
don't want to it probably wouldn't shock me if eighty
percent of the golf course is underwater right now. I
don't know that that's an exact percentage, but just from
what I could tell, it was mostly underwater, you know,
the west end and the southwest part of the community,
all along the river there, that is, the areas that
(04:04):
are in the low lying areas or underwater. I was
with some friends last night that live in the west
end and their home backs up to the Ohio. They're
going to be okay, it's not going to rise to
the level of those homes. And then I was in
far southwestern the fact of that as far southwest as
you could go in Jefferson County yesterday where our Pond
Creek flood pump station is with MSD, and there they
(04:25):
pump one point eight million gallons of water a day
into the Ohio River to get it from one side
of the levee to the other. And that helps keep
south and southwest Jefferson County dry. So the levee system works,
the pumps work. This was would have been a lot
worse were it not for a lot of the investments
that have been made over the last several decades in
(04:47):
our city.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
If people want to know road conditions, how do they
check that out?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
So you can go to our web page at Louisville,
Ky dot gov. You can see all the road closures.
We're probably getting to the point where most of the
roads that are going to be closed are closed. I continue,
Please do not drive around the barricades. Use caution. The
Third Street ramp for people coming downtown. The Third Street
ramp is closed right now, so you've got to find
(05:14):
a different way into downtown. That whole area around the
gulfs House, River Road, four Street, Third Street, all the
way to Waterfront that's totally underwater right now. Floodgates are up.
No one's seen these floodgates. We have not had to
put up since twenty eighteen, so we've got the protection
in place.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Any changes since twenty eighteen of obviously trying to have
some kind of more water resistance or is it just
business as usual just because happen.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
MSD has improved some of the you know, some of
the machinery that they have, and so they're constantly replacing
that because some of the equipment they have in their
flood plump stations and otherwise as old. So they've made
some improvements. But this flood pump station I was at
yes esterday, I believe is the newest one and that
was installed in nineteen eighty nine, so it's still generally
the system. It's just continuous maintenance and upkeep. And also,
(06:08):
I will tell you though, the other big thing that's
been made is there have been a lot of efforts
at retention ponds all around the city. Those have helped tremendously.
They've held well. MSD has done some other big projects
like the one that just got done a year or
so ago along Lexington Road in that whole Grinstead area
with giant underground pipes. All of those investments that you
(06:31):
see MSD working on during the course of the year,
those are built to help when situations like this happen.
So it definitely would have been worse where these investments
not continue to be made in the infrastructure.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Yeah, indeed, I can't imagine where are old you've been
as well? All right, clean up? Does FEMA arrive anytime soon?
And are you going to ask for the citizen ry
to citizenry to help assist cleaning things up?
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Well, we certainly will surpass the the you know, the
amount that we can be eligible for FEMA reimbursement, But
we're sort of on our own tone. So we're gonna
we're gonna be working a partners you know, mostly doing
it with our public works team and others that can
work on debris removal. The firefighters are going to be
helping to hose some things down once waters received. We
also have a great partnership with the state of Kentucky
(07:21):
and so for things like you know, the highway when
the Third Street ramp is impacted. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
has been a great partner of ours and they're they're
involved in this as well. I've been in constant communication
with Governor Basher and legislative leaders throughout this entire thing,
and so we're working very closely and hope to get
reimbursed from FEMA, but most of the work in terms
(07:44):
of the cleanup is going to be local people.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
I appreciate your time as always, mister Mary, thanks for
joining us today on such a busy schedule for you.
So take care and be saying.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Take care Tony, all right, all right, to take care,
all
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Right, maryor Craig Greenberg here on kentuk Ada's warning News
Scottish Chill standa by Sports comes your way next
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