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Pacific manufacturers and residents press city for urgent fixes after repeated flooding on Enneagram Drive
Summary
A PLZ Corporation plant and several residents told the Pacific Board of Aldermen July 16 that repeated flooding on Enneagram Drive has blocked plant access, stranded employees and damaged yards; public works officials said temporary repairs are in place while the city seeks an easement from the nearby DAP Foam property for a longer-term fix.
Jeff Uhler, director of plant operations at PLZ Corporation, told the Pacific Board of Aldermen on July 16 that flooding on Enneagram Drive has cut access to the company’s Pacific plant three times and cost the business about $1,500,000 in lost production and roughly $150,000 in wages. “When you have that road blocked off, emergency personnel cannot get inside our plant,” he said, urging the city to move quickly to repair the roadway and create a reliable secondary egress.
City staff confirmed emergency work after the meeting. Public Works Commissioner Robert Bergeman described a set of temporary “semi‑permanent” repairs — riprap, concrete encasement and plates over a collapsed pipe — that helped reopen the road after a recent washout. Bergeman said the primary failing 90‑inch culvert sits on property owned by DAP Foam and that the city is waiting for a 30‑foot temporary construction easement from DAP to place a wider ditch and riprap on the west side of Enneagram.
Attorney Jones and Bergeman said DAP’s national and local teams have verbally agreed to provide the temporary construction easement and that the city is waiting for a formal legal description before drafting documents. Bergeman said short‑term repairs cost estimates began in the $20,000–$30,000 range but that costs have risen as crews have gone beyond the initial scope; he said stormwater funds would cover modest emergency work but larger or longer repairs will require additional approvals.
Major Locke and other public‑safety officials told the board that ambulances and fire equipment could not reliably reach industrial sites when the road was flooded and asked planning and zoning to consider whether code changes should require two points of access for some commercial or industrial properties. Bergeman and engineers said the longer fix will also require additional easements and coordination with utilities and private property owners and could take weeks to complete.
The board recorded staff’s plan to seek the easement, continue temporary protection measures, and pursue the second phase of sewer and drainage improvements to increase capacity. Bergeman said engineers are preparing conceptual plans and a legal description for DAP’s review, and that the city will pursue a follow‑up meeting with PLZ and other affected businesses to coordinate next steps.
