Stormwater Subcommittee Update
Commissioners Howard and Spaeth provided the following report from the Subcommittee's March 3 meeting. The District had asked the City to explore several options for stormwater management. Options posed for East End Park were: excavating the center section, in lieu of the western portion, lessening the severity of the slope walls incorporating an amphitheatre style, and purchasing two homes (82 ft lots each) on Geneva for overland flow as an alternate to below grade piping. At the March 3 meeting, the City responded that excavating the center would require lowering to 10 ft at an additional cost of $800,000 and that reducing the slope would also impact ball fields. The City has yet to respond to the possibility of the acquisition of the two homes. Burke Engineering continues to explore the use of underground water storage or permeable pavers in the York Commons Park parking lot in lieu of constructing the front detention lobe originally planned. Initial calculations show the concepts costing approximately $3 million more with less water detention storage compared to aboveground detention capacity. Commissioner Howard voiced his desire to include Burke Engineering in the Subcommittee meetings to eliminate the delay for answers to inquiries.
The purchase of lots to store water was further discussed by the Board which, in the opinion of Commissioner Howard, the City does not favor. Board President Kubiesa remarked neither of the City or Park District's solutions will stop flooding, but will alleviate the problem. The Commissioners weighed the pros and cons of hiring an independent engineer to protect the District's interest in conserving the parks. The consensus was to have the Executive Director review the credentials of the engineering firm V3 or let a Request for Proposal (RFP). Commissioner Howard expressed his opinion that time is nearing for the Board to make a decision on at least one of the park sites proposed. The next Stormwater Subcommittee meeting is scheduled for March 17.
