11-13-1996 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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The City Engineer also reviewed proposed assessment roll for the project emphasizing that this was a very preliminary roll prepared in an attempt to give people an idea as to potential assessments resulting from these improvements. Haider indicated that Maplewood residents would also be assessed for proposed improvements subject to Maplewood's policies. Aichinger reviewed clean-out work for Ditch 7A. He stated that Ditch 7A between Keller Parkway and LaBore Road is contained largely within a storm sewer system. North of LaBore is a combination of open ditch and buried culverts. Ditch 7A originally was a County ditch created to serve agricultural drainage. The ditch profile has become compromised with the growth of trees and increasing sedimentation. He stated that ditch does not carry the water it should and the flat grade combined with improper culvert placement has compounded the problem. He stated the Watershed would ultimately like to turn the ditch over to City control, but they will not be able to do so until the flooding problems and water quality issues have been properly addressed. Aichinger reported that long -term solutions for this issue have been considered including storm sewer on Arcade Street or along the NSP power easements down to Kohlman basin. Either of these options would have eliminated the ditch entirely. However, the cost is prohibitive when compared to the nature of the problems The option being considered is to clean the ditch, remove trees, and repair culverts. Some flows could be re- routed to the Arcade storm sewer line. He feels this work program will solve 90% of existing problems. He further indicated that the Watershed District will call for a neighborhood meeting involving everyone affected by the ditch to review construction options as soon as more planning has been done on the project. He indicated the Watershed has $100,000 budgeted for this project in the coming year. Lastly, Aichinger explained it would be beneficial to combine the ditch cleaning work with the City's improvement project to save costs in bidding and mobilization. These savings could result in $10,000 to $20,000 which can be applied for additional ditch improvements. The neighborhood thought the concept of combining the projects made sense. A Maplewood resident raised the question on the need for the drainage pond by Gervais Lake at the end of the storm sewer system. He indicated that pond is proposed on his property and that the property would not come cheap. Staff indicated they would need to review this issue as to whether the pond is even necessary. Keith Shannon, a resident of Windrow Drive and a MNDOT engineer specializing in hydrology, noted the water saturation of the road bed in the areas of Windrow Drive and Westwind Drive. He stated that if Arcade Street were lowered, the same problem could exist there. He felt it was critical to evaluate the drainage patterns to ensure the water table is lowered to protect the new street as well as solving existing problems on Windrow and Westwind. The City Engineer has discussed this with Mr. Shannon and agrees with his concerns. Evaluation is ongoing to address this issue. -2- Page 59