Stormwater update: Meadowbrook drainage project on hold after property owners resist easement; city redirects funds

Public Works Director Pete Cacevich updated council Wednesday on five years of stormwater work and said the Meadowbrook neighborhood drainage project is on hold after required easement donations were not secured from property owners. Cacevich told council Public Works has lined about 36,000 linear feet of pipe, flushed 19,000 linear feet, replaced 6,400 linear feet of curb and 53 structures, and spent more than $9.5 million on work over the last five years. He said a recent pond-dredging project was nearly $500,000 and other larger projects total almost $3 million. Meadowbrook: Cacevich said the initial Meadowbrook design would have relied on donated rights-of-way and easements to allow underground detention systems and private-property pipe work. Those donations did not materialize and a plan to rework a nearby culvert and creek banks — which would have required removing large specimen trees — also failed to win property-owner support. "Property owners did not want to donate the easements," he said, and the city will place the Meadowbrook funds toward other stormwater projects. Council members expressed concern about long-term pipe replacement needs and budgeting. Councilman Hypes asked whether the city is preparing for a future where relining will not be sufficient and full pipe replacements will be required; Cacevich said the department inspects 20% of infrastructure each year (so the whole inventory every five years) and that relining can extend a corrugated metal pipe’s life by about 25 years; full replacement will be more costly and will be flagged as inspections reveal fatigue. Public comment: a Meadowbrook-area resident spoke during the public-comment period, saying she feared a permanent easement or condemnation would take half her backyard, remove trees she had planted and devalue her home. The mayor and staff responded that the city had developed designs in response to neighborhood requests and that, because several property owners opposed the plan, staff would move funds to other priorities rather than force a contested project. Next steps: Public Works identified six alternate projects (Claremont Avenue pipe replacement, Northwoods culvert, Willes Park stream restoration among them) and recommended reallocating funds. Staff will continue the five-year inspection cycle and return to council with prioritization for replacement work as inspections and costing data are compiled.