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Polk County approves plans for 4 Mile and Little 4 Mile stream restorations after public hearing
Summary
After public concerns that technical plans were missing from the online agenda, Polk County supervisors approved resolutions to adopt plan specifications and send both 4 Mile and Little 4 Mile Creek stream restoration projects to bid; officials said full plans are available at the auditor's office and cost details will follow bidding.
Polk County's Board of Supervisors moved forward on two stream restoration projects after a public hearing in which a nearby resident said the agenda lacked cost and contract details.
Ray Sears, who said he lives on 4 Mile Creek, told the board the agenda attachments for the 4 Mile project "tell me nothing" and that cost fields and contractors were left blank in the posted materials. "There's no cost, there's no contract," Sears said, asking whether it was appropriate to proceed with a hearing without those details.
County counsel and public works staff said the plans and specifications had been available for public review at the auditor's office when the hearing was noticed and that the agenda online had a technical omission: the large (nearly 100'page) plans and specs were not linked as attachments. "Those documents are generally in the auditor's office for review," Dominic Antonia of the county attorney's office said; John Swanson of Polk County Public Works added that if the resolutions are approved, the projects will go out to bid and full plans and specs will be shared through the bidding process.
Despite the confusion about attachments, the board voted to approve a resolution (agenda item No. 8) adopting plan specifications, form of contract and estimated cost for the 4 Mile tributary stream restoration project and a separate resolution for the Little 4 Mile Creek project. Supervisors indicated that final contract awards and specific costs will be reported to the board after bids are received.
The board closed the hearings and approved the resolutions by roll call. County staff said the missing online attachments were an oversight and pledged to adjust how documents are posted so the public can access large technical files more easily.
