Council specifies east route for Sidney watershed project

A watershed project long in the works could be changing routes as the Sidney City Council voted to go with an east route towards the Lodgepole Creek during Tuesday's regular meeting.

Once completed, the watershed would control the water flowing down Fort Sidney Road, with ditches and culverts handling any runoff, even during large storms. It would also ensure that future development upstream will not create issues for those downstream.

Galen Wittrock with the South Platte Natural Resource District (SPNRD) and the Joint East Sidney Watershed Authority (JESWA) gave the council a presentation on the proposed watershed using data prepared by the project's consultant, Olsson and Associates, in late February.

Wittrock said as the consultant continues to work towards a final design, they need to determine which direction, east or west, to take the runoff water once it reaches the bioswale off Fort Sidney Road near Western Nebraska Community College.

"What they were proposing was to take it off the west side of Fort Sidney Road along the youth camp and then down to the creek," Wittrock said.

Wittrock said some discussion also concerned taking the route by the Sidney Aquatic Center to the west side of the baseball fields.

"Some of the concerns arose is what's that going to entail from culverts, utilities and so forth," he said. "And so the question came up, 'How come we did not go east?'"

In revisiting with Olsson and Associates, Wittrock said a lot has changed since the initial comprehensive plan was put together.

"Originally, they were thinking that Virginia Lane was going to extend east," he said. "So all of a sudden, the cost of going east are going to be a lot less than going west."

Wittrock said the preliminary numbers show a close to $200,000 savings in going with the east route, estimated at just under $1.1 million, versus the west route which is estimated at nearly $1.3 million. Both estimates include a 10 percent contingency.

"It's a little more dirt work, but there's savings on culverts and utility work," he said.

Wittrock said what he needed from the council was direction so he could give the consultant the information they needed to fine-tune and finalize the design.

"The intent is, if we decide to go east, they will take all of this information and do their final design," he said. "And then at some point in the next month or two, we will a joint meeting again with the NRD board of directors and actually have a really refined dollar amount."

Councilor Wendall Gaston said the east route seemed much more logical option.

"Because the natural flow is that direction, anyway," Gaston said.

Wittrock said the east route would also require a lot less land rights and easements compared to the west route.

Councilor Joe Arterburn said he could not see why they would not go east given the lower cost.

"And I don't know why we'd want a mosquito-breeding pond by the swimming pool, anyway," Arterburn said. "There's seems to be a better use for that area in the future."

Mayor Mark Nienhueser then brought up the funding for the project. He said when they discussed the watershed in the joint meeting, funding for the project would be done through an 80-20 split in a local agreement with SPNRD.

"We pay 80 (percent), they pay 20," he said. "We have potentially somewhere between $650,000 and $700,000 coming in from what should be our sales tax. So in theory, we'd have somewhere in the neighborhood of just short of $900,000."

Nienhueser said they wanted Olsson and Associates to target $1 million for the total project cost for phase one, prioritizing the areas where the watershed would have the most significant impact.

"Right now, we're in Parkland and down along Fort Sidney," he said. "Get those highest priority ones done first, and then as we get down the road and a little more stable, we can move forward with some others in a phase two or phase three, either as development happens or as more funds become available."

After discussion, the council unanimously approved to go with the east route and for the consultant to prioritize a design with a total project cost of $1 million.

Following the vote, Rod Horn, general manager of SPNRD and member of the JESWA, expressed concerns regarding the NRD's input on the decision just made by the council.

"This decision tonight seems autonomous from this authority that we have an agreement with South Platte NRD," Horn said. "So I'm wondering how all of this dovetails into this process."

JESWA is a joint administrative entity, with four members - two representing the city and two from the NRD - who act on the behalf of both groups to plan, find funding for and ultimately implement the project.

Nienhueser said the council was just providing Wittrock with direction in which they would like to see the project go. Horn said the two entities need to work together through such decisions.

"I think we're sort of skirting outside of that process, and I just need clarification as to how this all ties into it," he said.

Arterburn said it would be JESWA's decision to sign the contract, but the project needs to start somewhere.

"This is where we're at," he said.

Councilor Roger Galloway agreed with Arterburn, and said the east route and dollar amount was the council's preference.

"If we need to have a joint decision, or a JESWA decision, we'll do that," Galloway said. "But this is to let the other two entities know that this is our preference at this time."

"You've got to start somewhere," Arterburn added.

"Well, we've been starting this whole process for the past 15 or 17 years," Horn said. "A lot of resources have been put into this process. I realize there's an obligation for financing, but there's also an obligation to the citizens for the mitigating of flood events."

Nienhueser said what the city is trying to do is get through not having a public works director.

"Galen came and asked for direction, and we're giving direction so they can keep moving forward," he said. "We're just trying to get through and be most expeditious. We've got $1 million that we're saying we've got to work with to take care of the biggest priorities."

Nienhueser said as properties develop to the east, the council can make sure ordinances take care of it if they have not already through the project.

"The master plan is there and will guide us as the community moves forward if we stick to it," he said. "And I think, specifically, JESWA representatives in both the NRD and the council, and both future councils and future boards, owe it to stick to that master plan so we can solve as the community grows."