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Board reopens public hearing on Oakland Avenue CSO plan and approves DLZ phase‑2 services up to $1.68 million
Summary
The Board of Works held a public hearing on a draft preliminary engineering report for the Oakland Avenue long‑term control plan aimed at reducing combined sewer overflows, then approved a phase‑2 professional services increase with DLZ Indiana LLC not to exceed $1,675,300.
The Elkhart City Board of Works reopened and closed a public hearing March 4 on a draft preliminary engineering report (PER) for the Oakland Avenue Long Term Control Plan and approved a contract amendment to pay DLZ Indiana LLC up to $1,675,300 for phase‑2 services.
The PER covers Project C (Harrison Street sewer separation) and Project D (CSO 6 and 7 improvements, force main extension) as components of the Oakland Avenue control plan. The plan is being prepared for review and possible low‑interest loan financing from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF). The city is under a consent decree filed in November 2011 that requires construction of new infrastructure to reduce combined sewer overflows; work associated with the Oakland Avenue projects must be operational by Nov. 15, 2028, to meet the consent decree schedule.
DLZ Indiana LLC consultant Samantha Smirka Rutschland summarized the PER and said the document is available for review at the Public Works and Utilities office. The PER breaks the overall Oakland Avenue program into four projects: A (combined sewer overflow force main), B (CSO storage tank and local sewers), C (Harrison Street sewer separation with sanitary and storm separations, new water main and surface improvements from Oakland Avenue to Third Street) and D (Jackson Boulevard and Third Street work, CSO 6 and 7 storage tank and lift station improvements and force main extension). Projects A and B are under construction; DLZ said C and D are scheduled to be bid in early fall 2025 with construction likely beginning spring 2026. DLZ told the board Project C should finish by the end of 2026 and Project D by the end of 2027.
Board members opened the hearing for public comment; no members of the public offered substantive comments in person or online during the initial hearing. After approving the DLZ contract amendment, the board reopened the hearing to allow additional public input. Mike Macklin, president of the board, spoke in support of moving the work forward, saying, "I fully support this." The board then closed the hearing.
City staff clarified that the PER remains a draft while the public comment period is open and that the board must later take a formal vote to approve the PER before submission to the SRF. The board’s motion approved phase‑2 services under the professional services agreement with DLZ for the Oakland Avenue CSO storage tank project for an additional amount not to exceed $1,675,300; the motion carried with no recorded opposition.
Why it matters: The Oakland Avenue projects are part of the city's legally required effort to reduce combined sewer overflows under a 2011 consent decree and have firm operational deadlines. SRF loan review and subsequent construction contracts will affect the city’s wastewater infrastructure schedule and capital spending.
What’s next: The PER will remain available for public comment, the board must later formally approve the final PER before submitting it to the SRF, and staff expect bidding for Projects C and D in early fall 2025 with possible construction starting spring 2026.
