With more than half of the necessary easements on hand, the $6.2 million watershed project to improve drainage in major flooding areas is back on track.
Of the 85 easements needed to complete the project, City Engineer Kevin Stafford told the city council Monday 49 have been acquired.
Stafford, who is also the senior vice president of Neel-Schaffer, said 20 of the unacquired easements that still need to be obtained are feasible, but “it’s just taking more time to find the right person to get it done.” He said the remaining 16 were declined by property owners.
An easement gives the right to cross or use someone else’s land for a specific purpose – in this case, drainage work.
The project, covered by American Rescue Plan Act funds, would improve major flooding areas in eight sites across the city – four each on Northside and Southside. The city has until September 2026 to complete the work or forfeit the funding.
While Neel-Schaffer created the proposed easements, Waggoner Engineering, which the city has contracted for the watershed project, was initially on the hook for securing them. But in January, representatives from the firm argued that responsibility falls on the city.
As a solution, the city tapped Neel-Schaffer in February to obtain the remaining easements, a process that isn’t always easy, Stafford told the council.
“We’ve had a lady … that we had to get a notary to go to her house in Iowa to get the notary and signature done,” he said. “With that said, we don’t see a problem getting them all.”
Stafford said all of the easements have been acquired for at least one site, while others sites range between 29% and 75% obtained.
Neel-Schaffer was contracted under the city’s annual engineering contract with the firm to create and obtain the easements. However, Stafford was asked to create a new contract specific to the ARPA scope to support ARPA reimbursement, he said.
Under the contract proposed Tuesday, the city would owe the firm nearly $50,000 for creating the easements and up to another $16,000 for acquiring them.
“What the contract does is, it goes back and captures both the creation of those easements, but then also now the acquisition going forward,” said Stafford.
Because the city didn’t bring Neel-Schaffer on to obtain the easements until earlier this year, Chief Financial Officer Jim Brigham said he wasn’t sure the payment would be reimbursed with ARPA funds. ARPA funding was required to be obligated by Dec. 31.
“I’m going to have to take a look at this because the agreement on the watershed program did not have this contract in before Dec. 31, so those ARPA funds cannot be obligated for this project,” he said. “This project has to be paid for by the city funds, not ARPA.”
Because the city first engaged Neel-Schaffer to create the easements in October 2024, Stafford argued the reimbursement would still be possible, at least for creating the easements. The council voted to table approving the contract until it is determined whether it can be covered with ARPA money.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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