Three concepts for potential land utilization above the proposed 21st Street flood control dam were unveiled by Frank Mercurio of KLA Environmental Service during a public meeting yesterday afternoon at City Hall.
Mercurio said that ultimately the community will have to make the decision about the land configuration above and below the 21st Street dam. “We can design it anyway you want it, Mercurio said. “It's just a matter of how much you want to spend.”
The first concept includes building the dam and using two blocks of Broadway Street below the dam as a spillway, Mercurio said. This would provide maximum protection for the least price, he said.
The second concept would be building the dam and extending Broadway south to College Drive, Mercurio said. “With this concept we're losing a little storage,” he said.
In the third concept, the dam would be constructed and the college property south of the Pawnee Mental Health building would be filled and leveled for potential use, Mercurio said. “This too, would result in a little less water storage capacity,” he said.
Also, unveiled was the design concept for the Plum Road dam, The dam would be built on top of Plum Road and is needed to minimize flood levels in the reservoir of the 21st Street dam, Mercurio said. The Plum Road dam will have the effect of lowering the flood level of 21st Street dam by two feet, he said.
Both dams will have to be constructed to the most stringent standards because they will need state approval, Mercurio said. The dams must be constructed to withstand a 10.6 inch rain, which is four-tenths of the maximum yearly rainfall in Concordia, he said.
Once the dams are constructed, there will be 17.1 acres above the base flood level and 11.3 acres above the four-tenths inundations level, Mercurio said. There would be approximately three acres dedicated to commercial development between the Plum Road dam and U.S. Highway 81, he said.
City manager Larry Uri said that the projects will cost between $3 and $5 million. The city can continue to work with the Corps of Engineers and be partially federally funded or we can fast-track the projects and use 100 percent city financing, Uri said.
During a city commission meeting in May, the commissioners voted 3-2 to sever ties with the Corps of Engineers. However, at their June 2 meeting, the commission reversed its decision after Uri had been informed by Corps of Engineers that the city could retain KLA to do the design work and would accept the payment of the city's $200,000 to the engineering company as an in-kind contribution.
Former city commissioner Art Slaughter made a presentation of his dream for development of the area at the beginning of the meeting. “If we want to move forward, then we’d better come up with new ideas and attract new money called investments in the community,” he said. “The south development is just one small key for a growing Concordia.”
The south development is very important to the growth of Concordia because of flood control for the residential areas below the dam, because of retail expansion, and because of recreation and travel and tourism, Slaughter said.
Slaughter said other communities are developing WET lakes as recreational areas. WET lakes, he said, are sealed and permanently hold water. “With this lake we can have paddle boats, bird houses, a small bridge, a water fountain for aeration of the lake and walking trails around the edges of the lake,” he said.
On the entertainment side, Slaughter proposed that a coliseum or amphitheater be constructed on the site of the Cloud County Community College property with a seating capacity of 500. It could be used for summer plays, outdoor music and other entertainment, he said.
“We are intertwined and let's keep it all rolling as each has a little power, but when we all work together, it is wonderfully big power,” he said.