Council hears public-works update on curb replacement, Raymore Commerce Center and stormwater issues at Derby and Johnson Drive

Public works and parks staff updated the council on multiple infrastructure and parks projects and addressed a stormwater/erosion complaint affecting Ward 1. Public works reported the curb-replacement program is progressing on Country Lane and that the Raymore Commerce Center South public infrastructure and the opening of 190 Fifth Street are complete; Dean Avenue was expected to open in the next week or two, weather permitting. Parks and Recreation reported trail reconstruction at Ward Park is underway and that rain has delayed completion; staff said theywill sequence additional trail segments to avoid overloading specific areas. During staff reports a council member raised multiple constituent complaints about mud and drainage at Derby and Johnson Drive in Ward 1, reporting that construction-site erosion and onsite controls had failed during heavy rain and that silt was washing onto the road and into drains. Public works staff described measures taken at the construction site: erosion-control design, installation of rock check dams, extra silt fence and straw bale inlet protections. Staff said they were working with the contractor to install more erosion control higher on the site to keep silt on the site rather than allow it to flow onto roads or directly into the creek. A council member asked whether inlet protections could simply be removed to clear the drains; staff and operations personnel said removing inlet protections would risk washing silt into the creek and could violate Department of Natural Resources (DNR) standards, so they were not an acceptable solution during construction. Staff noted repeated heavy downpours have complicated containment efforts. No formal council action or new permit conditions were recorded; staff said they were continuing to work with the developer and contractor to address the problem and had personnel out on recent weekends to help remediate.