More street maintenance can be expected over the summer as city officials enter a more active construction season.
Casement Road, Anderson Ave. between Sunset and 11th, Denison between Anderson and Claflin, and Hudson Avenue from Dickens to Claflin all will have active maintenance done over the summer. There’s also a major intersection improvement at Kimball and Denison which will include a full intersection closure over the summer. City Engineer Brian Johnson says the inconveniences will be worth it in the long run.
The city on average spends $4 million per year on road maintenance, but is expected to easily surpass that number this year.
City crews were fully staffed last year, but are now looking for employees after several recent departures.
Mayor Wynn Butler says that conversation comes down to available funding resources.
The city is said to be working on recruitment strategies to address the issue. As for adding funding for street maintenance, city officials will likely continue that conversation as the 2025 budget process gets started.
A full list of public works projects past, present, and future is available here
The city commission also heard updates on stormwater and floodplain projects
Stormwater Compliance Engineer Bill Heatherman says ongoing work to raise the levee is nearing completion of the first phase, after nearly two years of construction.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working on a second phase for the levee project which will focus specifically on finalizing an agreement with the railroad for improvements to the railroad gap section.
Commissioners were supportive of the city’s updated safety criteria for storm and flood drainage.
Weather, specifically flooding is a big variable for these types of projects. Commissioner Karen McCulloh says she thinks putting more emphasis on adapting projects with climate change in mind should be a priority.
In other business Tuesday, city commissioners received the first quarter update from Visit Manhattan, the convention and tourism arm of the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce. Details of that report can be found below.
WSItem A. Visit Manhattan 1st Qtr Update