The Minonk City Council was given the results of the 2007 Storm Water Improvement Study prepared by the Farnsworth Group, an engineering firm hired for the study. The study was commissioned by the Council to look at ways to improve the drainage of storm water from city streets.
Farnsworth engineer Bob Kohlhase said that Minonk has a “combined sewer” system and that refers to a single pipe that carries both sanitary waste water and storm water to the wastewater treatment plant which results in a key problem for the City of Minonk. Kohlhase summarized the objectives of the proposed storm water drainage improvement project as follows.
• Reduce the flooding of intersections along Locust Street.
• Reduce the flooding at 8th and Maple Avenue. (Has had more flooding since the 2002 project)
• Reduce the storm water flow to the WWTP (Water Waste Treatment Plant). This is a huge benefit to the City cost wise and on the life of the plant.
• Separate storm water from sanitary water. Helps with the flooding standpoint, but it enhances all of your drainage and takes pressure off other areas.
• Creates opportunities for future drainage improvement projects from the west side of Chestnut Street as you can tie in other areas for additional separation.
• Prevent IEPA violations and enforcement actions because of combined sewer overflow discharges.
• Extend the life of the WWTP, avoiding expansion costs. Every drop of water that you take away from storm water adds capacity to your plant.
• Storm water projects DO NOT eliminate all potential flooding.
Kohlhase said that the problem right now is that the City has only one outlet and to get a second outlet for storm water was identified as critical to truly improve the storm water management capabilities for the City. He recommended that a 24-inch storm sewer be installed from the manhole located at 7th and Chestnut Street on the existing 18-inch and attach to that a 24-inch sewer and go north approximately 3000 feet where it will discharge into an open ditch just northeast of Burrough’s. That would carry water through the ditch and over land and eventually head to Long Point Creek. All of the City’s water will be going to the same place, except that it is being managed in a different way.
Kohlhase said to enhance the drainage a “Weir” (little dam) would be put in front of the existing 18-inch storm sewer which would force the water to go east, but if it backs up it will go over the dam and go north in the new 24-inch storm sewer. The “Weir” acts as an overflow control in the event that the existing 18-inch pipe is backed up and would be designed so when water in the 18-inch is backed up it would discharge into the 24-inch pipe rather than in the streets and potentially homes.
Kohlhase also recommended enhancing the flow from Locust Street by bringing over another 18-inch sewer from 4th and Locust and connecting it into the existing 18-inch storm sewer on Oak Street. This project should be added simultaneously with the 24-inch outlet to the north.
The projected cost for the four options that were concluded from the study are:
Option # 1----Running 48-inch sewer from east side of town, northeast approximately 8000 feet to open ditch discharge was $1,369,695.
Option # 2----Running 24-inch storm sewer from existing 18-inch storm sewer on 7th Street, north up the abandoned railroad and creating a detention pond to slowly discharge underground through existing drain tiles was $653,250
Option # 3 (Recommended)----Running a 24-inch storm sewer from existing 18-inch storm sewer on 7th Street, north up the abandoned railroad tracks, discharging into an open ditch east of Burrough’s was $361,185.
Option # 4----Locust Street Alternatives (4th, 5th, and 6th) -----Running 18-inch sewer 475 feet west to existing 18-inch sewer on Oak Street was $46,253 per block.
Alderman Sean Cunningham asked Kohlhase if he was pretty confident that this is going to solve the flooding issues on Locust Street.
Kohlhase responded yes, but added that storm water projects do not solve all problems. He said, "Sometimes nature will give you a rain that you cannot handle. You could not afford to design for a 500 year rain. You design for flooded streets and a normal street design is for a 10 year rain. You let the street be a temporary storage until the traffic jam ends and the water goes out in a few hours. You have already seen a reduction in flooding with the existing 18-inch sewer and this would basically eliminate that because you would have a new direct route out of town."
Redenius hired as Zoning Officer
The Council approved the hiring of Ron Redenius as Zoning Officer for the City of Minonk at a salary of $150 per month. Mayor Bill Koos said that those duties used to be handled by our city administrator and currently the CIty does not have one. Koos said that the City has had an increased activity in the City zoning issues and there needs to be a contact that people can go to on a regular basis to get answers to their zoning questions. Koos added that Redenius is one of the authors of the current zoning book and is well versed in what our zoning code.
The hiring of Redenius was taken with the understanding that if the City hires another city administrator those duties would go back to the new administrator.
City Council Comments
Alderman Cunningham reported that he had a call from a constituent about leaf burning in the City and said that he would like to consider financing a process to look into vacuuming leaves up.
Mayor's Comments
• Thanked the Public Works Department for work getting caught up in preparation for winter.
• Reported that the new ambulance building is now completed and the squad has moved in.
• Announced that if there was no objection from the Council, he would like to have the next regular meeting on December 3, 2007, providing the agenda stays light, at the new ambulance shed at 7 p.m. and turn it into a City Council meeting and open house for the public to be able to come by and see the building.