Council approves ADEM grant agreement to advance Langan Park Lake dredging preparations

Vice President Gregory, Mobile City Council, said the council approved a grant agreement with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to prepare Langan Park Lake for dredging and related stormwater improvements.

The grant will fund removal and temporary containment of dredged sediment, the council heard. "This will be a grant from ADEM to use for stormwater improvement, basically taking sediment from the lake after the dredging and using it to help with, detention purposes," Vice President Gregory said. She said the sediment will be placed in geo tubes on park property to help prevent problematic flows coming from Ziegler.

The council heard that bids for the dredging work are expected to open by the end of the month, after which the city will award a contract and proceed with dredging. Vice President Gregory described the grant and the geo-tube sediment management as steps that bring the city "much closer to dredging for the lake."

Council members voted, and the resolution authorizing the agreement passed during the consent resolutions portion of the meeting.

The action advances a multi-step process the city described: (1) use ADEM grant funds for sediment-handling infrastructure and stormwater improvements; (2) solicit and award dredging bids; and (3) begin dredging operations. No timeline for the start of dredging beyond the bid schedule was specified by the council. The council did not discuss estimated dredging costs in the meeting record.

The vote to approve the agreement was part of a package of consent resolutions the council considered together; there was no recorded dissent on this item at the meeting.