Council considers fix for Arcadia east side runoff

Arcadia officials are looking for ways to ease stormwater runoff in areas south and east of Fairfield Avenue, including possibly replacing drainage pipes that are undersized for development that’s occurred in the area.

The council last Wednesday discussed how to remedy some of the drainage problems in the area, perhaps putting a fix in the 2025 budget.

“Water comes in from three different ways,” said Mayor John Kimmel. “There’s a lot of factors at play.”

Some of the run-off problems are the result of new development, “but we want that too,” Kimmel said.

One possible fix could be to redirect stormwater across Highway 95. The attention to the area’s flooding comes amidst a major federal flood project along Turton Creek that could begin next year and a proposed raising of Willow Street on the city’s west side, also possible in 2025.

The city has about $71,857 remaining of the $338,452 bequeathed Arcadia by the late Romona English. The city has spent or allocated to various city projects just over $269,654 of the donation, according to an accounting by city clerk and treasurer Angela Berg. The money is helping pay for the new library and Arcadia Ambulance buildings and improvements to city parks and aquatic center.

Additional contributions have gone to the city fire and police departments and toward construction of new welcome to Arcadia signs.

The council also approved a $250 donation to the school district’s Arcadia Jazz Band and the a cappella group, the Accidentals, for the groups’ performance at Thursday’s concert in Memorial Park. Council member Don Kreibich questioned whether the donations were an appropriate use of tax dollars, and the council agreed that member Duane Matelski should continue to coordinate the performances and perhaps from a private group to help finance them.

In other action, the council:

• Approved Kimmel drafting a job description for a position that would assume some of the duties once performed by a city administrator. Among those tasks is the enforcement of city codes and ordinances.

• Heard that work may be done this fall on a new right-hand turn lane from Fairfield onto Highway 95.

• Heard from Kimmel that the Arcadia Youth Association and the city are working on improvements to Dettloff Park, including a parking lot off Jefferson that could include new playground equipment.

• May reinstitute a city cleanup day that would be strongly promoted. City operations director Rollie Conrad said the last two cleanup days were not successful.