By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
Tuesday night as many of us lay in bed listening to the rain hit our roofs, the residents of the Pearl Ridge subdivision were sandbagging their property. Councilman Mark Brown is a resident of Pearl Ridge and many wonder if the slow response from the City’s Public Works Department is retribution for his speaking out against the wasteful spending in said departrment.
Over two years ago the residents of Pearl Ridge asked for some relief from the flooding caused by a faulty detention basin. The residents first went to developer Easton Wade who refused to help. The residents then went to Michael Pratt, the City’s Public Works Director, to determine what relief the City could offer. Pratt refused to accept any responsibility even though the City has an ordinance requiring him, and the City, to take action. Councilman John Gieseke stated during the Tuesday Night meeting, “The city is in violation of ordinance 151.72 as we sit here tonight.” Section 151.72 (c) If, after an inspection by the City Engineer, the City Engineer determines the condition of a privately owned storm water management system is an immediate danger to the public health or safety, because of an unsafe condition, or if the trustees or owner fail to provide a reasonable degree or maintenance, the City Engineer shall take such action as may be necessary to protect the public health and safety and make the system safe and correct. The City Engineer shall follow the abatement procedures set forth in section 96.22 through 96.30. Any cost incurred by the City, as a result of the City Engineer’s actions, shall be assessed against the owner(s) of the system. Currently the system is maintained and owned by the developer, Easton Wade.
The City Council asked the Public Works department to send out a design build request for proposal. The proposal was developed by the Public Works department and asks for requirements that are not prescribed by City Ordinance. Under section 151.69 the City requires Detention Standards for sites over 10 acres are “2 year and 50 year, 24 hour event/peak flows (using the TR-55 Method), the RFP required the 100 year event. This requirement is only for flood areas, this was not a flood area before the detention basin used flooded. These requirements added millions of dollars to the cost of the project.
The City Council asked the City Administrator, Allan Williams, to negotiate with both companies to truly design build the detention basin. During the Council meeting Gieseke questioned the requirements placed on the RFP, “it appears that the RFP was written so the cost would be so high just to prove to us that Design Build won’t work.” The Council has been critical of the tremendous cost that the city incurs for engineering. The design build approach does not allow the Public Works department to choose first the engineer then the construction company. The council asked Williams to negotiate quickly.
