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Committee moves $5 million city match to repair Mississippi flood wall
Summary
The Public Infrastructure & Utilities Committee voted to in-bank and give a due-pass recommendation to Board Bill 115, which would allocate $5,000,000 in city funds to match a state grant for repairs and testing of the flood wall along the Mississippi River.
Chair Browning introduced Board Bill 115 on Jan. 14, asking the Public Infrastructure & Utilities Committee to allocate $5,000,000 as the city’s match to state funds for repairs to the flood wall along the Mississippi River.
The measure’s sponsor, Chair Browning, told the committee the funding would support pump testing, debris removal and replacement of valves at wells along the wall and related environmental testing. Browning said the Streets Division is responsible for flood-wall maintenance and that contracted vendors will perform specialized work the department cannot complete with in-house staff. Browning described the request as a routine—but expensive—maintenance step that unlocks a state match currently appropriated at the state level.
Committee members asked several technical and logistical questions: alderwoman Boyd asked precisely where the work would be performed and whether maintenance is recurring; Browning said the work is on the front-facing flood wall and that the initial package will include a condition assessment. Committee members were told there are 63 wells along the wall that will be inspected and cleaned, and the sponsor listed planned valve replacements and environmental testing. Browning said the first $700,000 would fund the assessment and planning needed to scope the broader work.
There were several requests to be added as cosponsors. The committee voted to “in bank” the bill and then moved a due-pass recommendation; the motion for a due-pass recommendation was, on the record, moved by "the alderman from the fifth" and seconded by "the alderman from the tenth," and the committee passed the bill forward with the committee’s recommendation.
What happens next: Board Bill 115 will proceed with the committee’s due-pass recommendation so the full Board of Aldermen can consider final approval and appropriation of the city match. If approved by the board and the state match is available, the Water Division and Streets Division will proceed with the assessment and follow-on contracted repairs.
