09-17-07 Meeting of Drainage and Flooding Committee

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acquire ownership. This is being negotiated as administrative policy demands contamination -free land before acquisition, which greatly escalates the cost and hardship. UTILITY/INFRASTRUCTURE REPLACEMENT Last but of utmost importance, were the city's fail- ing utility systems. Our water system was inadequate both in flow and pressure to serve the business park or even guarantee proper fire protection. We had been negotiating for several years with EDA for a new south side tower and received a $974,280 grant. To realize the economic advantage, we upgraded the entire system at a cost of $2.6 million. It went into operation early in 1995. Since the flooding in 1990, our wastewater treatment plant, located in the floodway on an elevated mound, has not provided treatment sufficient to allow main extension and we have been under mora- torium. A new $5.5 million plant out of the floodway went into operation in the summer of 1996. Rural Development (formerly Farmers Home Administration) provided a grant of $2,747,000 and lent us the remainder. The old plant will be removed at a cost of $250,000 from the unused contingency in the plant project, providing added parkland, lowering the base flood level 6 to 12 inches, and reducing the water velocity during flooding. This month we also received notice that we are the recipients of a $108,000 grant from the Depart- ment of Development's public facility fund. It will be used to install a new lift station on the northwest side of the community. This is a problem area during flooding, when many homes occupied primarily by the elderly or young families experienced sewage backup in their basements. CONCLUSION Darlington has worked continuously and aggressively to mitigate and reduce dam- age incurred by businesses and residents during flooding. We want to recognize the agencies, their per- sonnel, and those who have worked so hard and been sensitive to our needs. This was to be a model project so we want it to be a "model of success." So often, regulatory issues look good on paper, but in the real world don't accomplish what is intended but merely elevate the cost beyond evaluation or expectation. Each project encounters its own challenges and flexibility is imperative. Our objective is that through flood mitigation we will be able to change our river's image to a positive one, accomplish historic preservation, economic revitalization, contamination remediation, and be a safe, prosperous, and viable community for generations to come. Therefore, we have erected signs at the four major community entrances, financed through a fund drive by the local Chamber of Commerce, stating, "Darlington, The Pearl of the Pecatonica" ... where the river flows and opportunity grows! For more information, contact Bev Anderson, City of Darlington, 530 Washington Street, Darlington, Wisconsin 53530, (608) 776-4093. NATURE BATS LAST. TuLSA'S FLOOD STORY BY ANN PATTON COMMUNITY AFFAIRS MANAGER, CITY OF TULSA, OKLAHOMA It was 3 a.m. The newly elected city commissioner, in office only 19 days, was jarred from fitful sleep by the loud ringing of his bedside phone. Success Stories 5