UP City Council Approves Plans For Stormwater Improvements, Continuing Emergency Declaration
The University Park City Council approved resolutions on March 17 authorizing the use of Caruth Park for underground stormwater detention to reduce potential flooding in the area and allowing the city manager to enter into contract with Storm Trap to buy the detention system units for that project.
Storm Trap’s quote for the units required to fill Caruth Park is not to exceed about $2.24 million, according to city staff.
“The city’s been looking for some time at identifying and designing improvements aimed at reducing the flooding and stormwater problems that the city experiences on a regular basis in the northeast part of the city.” Public Works Director Jacob Speer said. “One of the items identified is the need to capture and store temporarily or detain large amounts of water during rainfall events to reduce the amount of street flooding that the city experiences.
“To do that, we’ve identified Caruth Park, specifically the open play field area at Caruth Park, as a prime location to install a…underground detention structure that would allow us to hold the water and still allow the current usefulness of the park.”
Public works staff are planning to install the underground stormwater detention system in the park this summer. City officials say the detention structure will increase the capacity of the city’s stormwater system by 11 acre feet, or about 3.5 million gallons.
“This work will take place on the playfield, soccer field, ball field area…During construction, the large playground will still remain open and everything west of there, the small playground and everything east will be closed and out of commission during construction,” Speer said.
In other news:
The city council also approved continuing the public health emergency declaration signed by Mayor Olin Lane effective March 13 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
City Manager Robbie Corder said the declaration will remain in effect until the city council takes action to repeal it.
“Staff would also like to make clear that the city actually falls under the county’s disaster and all the orders that you have seen,” Corder said.
