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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Grant Agreement for improvements to low-head dam in North River Valley Park RESOLUTION NO. 16-487 RESOLUTION APPROVING GRANT AGREEMENT FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO LOW-HEAD DAM IN NORTH RIVER VALLEY PARK FOR THE CITY OF AMES WHEREAS, in 1984,the City constructed a low-head dam in North River Valley Park, and the sole function of this dam was to create a pool of water in the primary recharge location for the City's downtown well field during drought conditions ; and, WHEREAS,the process for proposed modifications to this dam began in March 2008 when the City Council received correspondence from the Skunk River Paddlers outlining the inherent dangers of low-head dams; and, WHEREAS, in 2009, City staff secured $75,000 in funding from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to improve safety at the dam; and, WHEREAS, at the time, staff did not have a complete design concept that met all of the necessary requirements,and the City did not formally enter into the Grant Agreement with the DNR; however,the City did formally accept the grant in May 2015 once an acceptable design concept had been developed; and, WHEREAS, over the past six years, City staff continued to work with the DNR to try and resolve some of the outstanding design issues to move the project forward,and some of these issues included finding an engineer to sign and seal the planned modifications, and meeting the "no rise" requirement for work taking place in the flood way; and, WHEREAS, since 2008, several low-head dam modification projects have taken place in Iowa, including Manchester, Elkader, Story City, Boone, and Charles City; and there are now engineering firms that will do this type of work; and, WHEREAS,the DNR worked to develop some alternatives so the"certificate of no rise"can be issued,and an acceptable alternative has been identified that would remove a portion of the south wing wall of the dam and cut back the south bank of the river; and, WHEREAS,this will still allow the dam to serve its primary function, and the modification has been agreed upon by City staff; and, WHEREAS,The design has undergone several changes since 2008,which improved safety, but also increased the cost of the project; and, WHEREAS,in December 2015,staff submitted another funding request to the DNR to cover an additional$85,000,and this amount would cover the engineering fees needed to design the project and cover the additional funding gap for the project; and, WHEREAS, staff had originally hoped design would be handled by the DNR; however, a significant backlog of existing projects was going to delay this project at least 12 months or more; and, WHEREAS, at the recommendation of the DNR, staff submitted the request for the additional funds to help move the design forward in a timely manner, and staff was notified on March 11 that the additional funding request was approved. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Ames, Iowa, that the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Low-Head Dam Safety Grant Agreement in the amount of$85,000 is hereby approved. ADOPTED THIS 12th day of April, 2016. Diane R. Voss, City Clerk Ann H. Campbell, Mayor Introduced by: Gartin Seconded by: Nelson Voting aye: Betcher, Beatty-Hansen, Corrieri, Gartin,Nelson, Orazem Voting nay: None Absent: None Resolution declared adopted and signed by the Mayor this 12th day of April, 2016.