Reding updates council on flood control plans

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, November 7, 2000

Leo Reding updated the Austin City Council on his efforts to do something about flooding, but reported that most farmers don’t want more water – in the form of holding ponds – on their land.

Tuesday, November 07, 2000

Leo Reding updated the Austin City Council on his efforts to do something about flooding, but reported that most farmers don’t want more water – in the form of holding ponds – on their land.

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Chuck Lennberg, whose home at 309 Ninth Ave. SE was flooded this summer, seconded the farmers.

"I don’t want water either," Lennberg said at the beginning of the Monday’s council meeting.

Flooding, or rather the continuing aftermath of this summer’s severe flood, was the unscheduled topic at an unusual council meeting that had only three items on the agenda and lasted less than an hour.

Mayor Bonnie Rietz first congratulated Public Works Director Jon Erichson for persistence that paid off for several small business owners who suffered from the flood.

Erichson succeeded, on his third attempt, in convincing the Federal Emergency Management Agency that the businesses that had cleared up their own mess at their own expense, before the city started its free pickup of flood debris and garbage, should be reimbursed. He argued the case on the grounds that the businesses avoided a public health hazard by being prompt with their cleanup.

"We got a letter now saying that the businesses will be reimbursed for their expenses," Erichson said, "although there are still a few steps to go through."

The public works director also announced that the city would be receiving its first reimbursement check in the amount of $193,000 from FEMA soon.

Efforts to investigate options for the prevention of future flood disasters and to gain more funding for the buyout of homes and businesses in the flood plain also are proceeding, Erichson explained.

Following a joint meeting of city and county officials and the Natural Resource and Conservation Service two weeks ago, a formal request was made that the NRCS and the Army Corps of Engineers perform a joint study of the watershed problem that leaves much of Austin submerged at least once a decade. Although Erichson didn’t have a timeline of when that study would commence, he expressed hopes that by involving several agencies, a fresh approach to the problem of flooding would emerge.

As for the buyout of any homes in the flood plain, Rietz reported that Kermit Mahan, executive director of the Austin Housing and Redevelopment Agency, said his agency had no more funds for buyouts this year, but would learn in January if and for how much Austin qualified.

"The amount of money available is a lot less," Rietz said. "There is only $3 million for the whole state, and that has to be divided among the communities that were affected, so Austin will only be a part of that." Since 1978, the HRA has spent roughly $5.5 million on flood buyouts.

Reding, former mayor and state legislator, is working on the money problem.

"I wrote a letter to all the (state legislative) candidates, asking them if they would support putting $200,000 in the 2001 bonding bill," he told the council. "Rob Leighton sent a letter saying yes, I got a verbal commitment from Pat Piper and Sen. Kenric Scheevel said perhaps we should come in with a cooperative between Austin and Spring Valley.

"To me this is something you should probably explore in the future."

Reding also contacted Joel Johnson, CEO of Hormel Foods Corp., to ask about funds from the Hormel Foundation.

"Mr. Johnson indicated that the foundation probably had more commitments now than it can take care of, but he did say that he favored the city taking a proactive approach to the flood problem," Reding said.