NOTN- City officials are working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to plan the next phase of flood-control work along the Mendenhall River.
Mayor Beth Weldon said Corps officials spent an entire day in Juneau last week discussing next steps and funding options for the multi-phase project.
“They came into town, and what we thought would be an hour turned into two hours and then turned into all day. ” Said Weldon, “That is good, because that means they’re very interested in us.”
Phase 1 repairs are underway to reinforce existing HESCO barriers and fix areas where water breached.
“Everybody knows that there are places we have to fix, especially where the trees struck through, and some areas had water coming through the pipes underneath the HESCO barriers.” Said Weldon “But their (U.S. Army Corp of Engineers) concern was, there were some places where the water actually lapped over, so part of this is we’re going to have to raise the HESCO barriers in some places.”
Phase 2, which would extend additional protection along the river, may not be completed in a single season because of cost constraints.
The city is seeking more federal support to meet its July construction deadline, but Weldon said the ongoing federal government shutdown has delayed progress.
“We were supposed to meet with the NRCS people, but they’ve been furloughed. So that is not good news for the people on View Drive, that’s the agency that was looking at the buyout program.” Said Weldon, “People don’t just come back to work and start running where they left off. View Drive will be a real challenge this next year.”
The Natural Resources Conservation Service the agency overseeing a federal buyout program for homeowners on View Drive, has been furloughed.
The current federal government shutdown has no end in sight.
Weldon added that new voter-approved tax limits may also restrict local funding options for flood control. “It’s going to tie our hands a bit,” she said. “It’s protecting the valley; if we protect the valley, it actually helps the whole city.”
