By DAVE SCHULTZ
The Willowbrook subdivision on the city’s north side has drainage problems, and City Engineer Kelly White presented a study to the Bluffton Board of Public Works and Safety Tuesday that said repairing those problems could be costly.
While a couple of alternatives were comparatively low-cost, even those would cost the city in the neighborhood of $200,000 to $259,000 — and those estimates include potential help from the state’s Community Crossings Matching Grant program.
The other three estimates were between $1 million and $1.2 million.
The study, which is considered preliminary, was conducted by the Lochemuller Group, a Fort Wayne-based engineering firm. A employee of that company happens to live in the subdivision. That employee, White said, was able to walk through the area after rainstorms and see where water was pooling.
Mayor John Whicker didn’t seem to be too surprised by the study. He and his wife lived in Willowbrook years ago, and he described the work being done on the subdivision as “the wild, wild west” when he lived there.
The board — Whicker, Scott Mentzer, and Josh Hunt — took no formal action on the study’s Tuesday. The city, which now has a population over 10,000 people, must create a stormwater utility and the Willowbrook problems will be part of that utility.
The Board of Works also put a “stop work” order in place on the construction of a new dentist’s office on the city’s north side after neighbors complained about problems with storm drainage at the site.
Riverstone Dental, 1429 Baker Place, received approval from the Wells County Area Plan Commission in May to build a new office and then tear down its current facility. However, Chandler Gerber, who represents District 1 on the Bluffton Common Council, spoke to the Board of Works Tuesday about problems with the construction and its effects on people who live nearby.
The problem is that the drainage system there is not city infrastructure and apparently drainage has been affected by drain lines being broken. As a result, water — such as that from recent rains — hasn’t been able to drain properly. One resident, Tony Terhune, said the water was ankle deep around his property due to the construction.
The board OK’d the stop work order, in part, to allow those building the new office and city officials to take a look at the situation before more drainage problems are created or uncovered.
Several other items were decided or discussed during Tuesday’s meeting. They include:
• A recommendation from Karen Morris, the city’s new information technology chief, said the city should not purchase a new server until it has received three bids. Only one bid was received, for $200,000, and Morris said two more bids should be obtained.
• Brandy Fiechter, superintendent of the Bluffton Parks and Recreation Department, told the Board of Works that the Parks Department’s board has approved change orders for Lancaster Park construction.
• Fire Chief Don Craig received permission to hire two more firefighters — Eric Musselman as a part-time firefighter and Kadin Garza as a paid on-call firefighter. The two passed agility tests and written tests and were cleared in interviews, Craig said.
• Craig, along with Dan Zoda, the Bluffton Fire Department’s training officer, also received permission from the board to apply for state funds to create a training facility in Bluffton.
• The city approved a tentative agreement with property owner Karl Ewing for a possible encroachment for a shed at 719 Willowbrook. The formal agreement must be drawn up by City Attorney Tony Crowell.
daves@news-banner.com
