|
Last modified: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 3:21 PM CDT
Flood update reveals resident concerns
by Jennifer Johnson • Daily News
An update on Breckenridge flood protection after Monday's city council meeting revealed a few of the issues the city continues to battle, such as the number of trees lost to permanent levee construction.
Mayor Cliff Barth said up until the past few years, the city has been repeatedly advised by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that it only needs the top of the levee to be 10 feet wide for maintenance and repair work.
However, the current project manager, Terryl Williams, said the city is required to have an additional 15 feet of "dead space" on either side of the levee that runs parallel along the length of it.
For residents, that means an extra 30 feet of land that cannot have tree growth.
"We've been fighting this for the past two years," said Barth. "But there's not much we can do about it."
The city has been also busy trying to realign parts of the levee to avoid major infringement on resident property. Near the Gewalt Addition, about 23 acres of land owned Brian Conzemius is currently absorbed by the levee.
"We've been pushing the Army Corps to move it back," said Barth. "He can't even farm there and so we ended up buying the 23 acres."
In addition, the Breckenridge Port Authority wants to purchase more of that land for the further development of Gewalt.
The update also included the city's plan to shift the levee alignment near the Bois de Sioux Golf Course, 10 feet away from residential property.
While the biggest complaint heard is on the loss of trees, most residents go out of their way to help.
"People are just overwhelmingly cooperative," said Tim Fox, city attorney.
|
