Carthage council introduces study to map waters on South Economic Development Park

At its Sept. 9 meeting, the Carthage City Council introduced a first reading of Council Bill 25-62 to authorize the mayor to contract with Terra Foundation for a water delineation study on roughly 246 acres at the South Economic Development Park. Jeff Baird, representing the Carthage Economic Development Corporation, said four bids were received and Terra Foundation submitted the low bid of $5,500. The council and staff said the study is an early step to determine whether there are jurisdictional waters or waters of the United States on the site and, if so, what mitigation or permitting requirements could affect future development. The council’s public-works report repeated the bid amounts for the record and recommended moving forward with the low bidder. Baird said the study is “just 1 of the steps in the development process for the land out there by the hospital the city owns,” noting the work will show “if there are jurisdictional waters or waters of The United States out there, and then what that will impact will be and if we have to mitigate those.” The public-works summary provided the other bids: Environmental Works $6,500; Cattails Environmental $7,061.50; Olson’s about $21,000. During public comment, resident Gene W. Griffith urged council attention to broader water issues, linking regional planning and conservation concerns to local growth. Griffith told the council, “this is an issue that we will have to deal with in the future,” and urged creation of a committee to develop a comprehensive water policy. Council members introduced the ordinance for first reading; the record shows the bill was presented but not finally adopted at the meeting. No binding permit decisions or mitigation requirements were reported at the session. The study, if contracted after subsequent council action, would inform any future permitting, mitigation planning or development decisions for the park. Less-critical details: the city’s public-works discussion also noted sidewalk and culvert projects ongoing elsewhere in town; those are separate capital projects and unrelated to the delineation study.