The downtown Atlantic building facade (exterior) improvement project is moving forward, despite some dropouts by business owners. SWIPCO Community Development Team Leader Alexis Fleener said eight building owners are still willing to move forward with efforts to obtain a Community Development Block Grant for as much as 500-thousand dollars. She said the CDBG application would be made on or before May 17th, 2019, with construction taking approximately two-years to complete. The City is applying for $456,050. The grant covers up to 54% of the cost, with the remaining share split between the City and building owners. Fleener says the City’s share amounts to $224,675, which is just under what the goal was.

A Resolution to move forward with the CDBG application passed by a vote of 6-to 1, with Councilman Chris Jimerson the lone No vote. Fleener said some of the building owners participating the project during Phase 1, are in the 400 and 500 blocks of Chestnut Street. The eight building owners have given 10-percent of their building costs as part of the application process. She said the project will be bid as one project. There will be one general contractor and various subcontractors working on the project, with the City holding the contract. Local contractors with the lowest responsible bid will be sought in the bidding process. The facade improvements covered under the program include the building frontage to 24 inches deep, along with the sides for corner buildings, as well as restoration, rehabilitation and replacement as necessary.

The Council also heard from Snyder and Associates’ Jeff Godwin, with regard to erosion on the north bank of Troublesome Creek, about 600-feet east of the Olive Street bridge, where a grade stabilization structure was installed about 40-to 50-years ago. The sheet piling and concrete structure was designed to raise the stream bed to prevent the waters from getting deeper further upstream. It failed about 10-years or so ago, allowing the river water to wash around the end of the structure.

The erosion is encroaching on the trail system and AMU well fields to the north. He says they’re looking at options on how to best fix the problem. The Hungry Canyons Alliance [HCA] (a group of counties in southwest Iowa that was formed in the ’90’s) was successful over the years to obtain federal and state funding to build similar grade stabilization structures that protect bridges and highways. The project cost was estimated at $240,000. The HCA he said, might be willing to kick-in $140,000, and Cass County Engineer Charles Bechtold said he would be willing to sponsor the grant. County bridges as far upstream as Highway 71 stand to benefit from the structure to be located downstream.

In order to be eligible for the HCA funds, a topographic survey of TroubLesome Creek needs to be taken, including a cross-section with depth measurements every 200-feet to just east of Highway 71. Godwin said HCA would pay 80% of the survey costs (estimated at $10,000), if the City wants Snyders to conduct the survey, with City’s share amounting to $2,000. Godwin said it’s possible AMU and the County could partner with the City for the proposed project, which would necessitate the removal of the current damn. He said the problem will get worse if something is not done within the next 5-years.

The Council will need to make a decision on holding the survey decision by their meeting on May 15th.