FORT SMITH: Officials examine downtown flooding

— City officials plan to study flooding problems downtown and north of downtown in hopes of providing funding for a solution under a fiveyear capital improvements program.

Fort Smith city directors discussed the issue Tuesday during a study session and are scheduled to vote on the $129 million program for 2010-14 at their Oct. 6 meeting.

While funding for what was once called the Town Branch creek accounts for $1.65 million of the total proposed spending, it drew most of the discussion at Tuesday's meeting.

Flooding in the east end of downtown and in the neighborhoods to the north has been unusually bad because of heavier-thannormal rains this summer. Stormwater got into some residents' homes and into some downtown businesses in July.

Several people attended a public meeting earlier in September asking the city to address the problem.

At least three residents who have been affected by the flooding attended Tuesday's meeting. One of them, Wardell Henley, said he plans to present a petition to directors Oct. 6 asking them to evaluate all options before taking action and to inform residents and allow their input.

Henley said the petition had 25-30 signatures Tuesday but he planned to get more before Oct. 6.

The most obvious rem-edy and one that City Engineer Stan Snodgrass said probably will be chosen is to dig a large retention pond to hold excess stormwater until it can be gradually drained off.

Century-old brick drainage pipe that ranges from 21 inches in diameter at its southern end to 6 feet wide at the north end, cannot accommodate the water runoff during heavy storms. The creek pipe system runs north under Towson Avenue, to North 10th and Eighth streets before joining May Branch creek at North P Street and draining into the Arkansas River.

A firm will be hired to conduct the study, for about $150,000, and have a recommendation for city officials in about six months, he said.

Meanwhile, he said, planned improvements to May Branch creek could help alleviate flooding in the Town Branch creek area. May Branch improvements are expected to cost about $30 million, of which the city plans to spend $15 million. The city is lobbying the federal government for grant money to fund the balance.

May Branch runs north from Park Avenue and North 30th Street to North O Street then northwest to the river.

Most of the five-year program will be paid for with money from a 1 percent sales tax first passed in 1985 for streets, bridges and associated drainage. The tax is expected to generate an average of $20.1 million over the next five years.

City officials plan to supplement the tax money with federal and state grants.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 13, 18 on 09/23/2009

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