MANSFIELD — Legislation that would fund engineering/design work on a dry dam along the city’s north side is scheduled for a second reading Tuesday evening by Mansfield City Council.
But its immediate future remains as murky as the water it would prevent from flowing into more than 100 acres of the city’s flood plain.
Council gave a first reading Aug. 17 on the $1.5 million design work for the Touby’s Run Flood Mitigation project and the proposal is scheduled for a final vote Sept. 21.
But council members made it clear at their last meeting the funding decision could be punted into early 2022 for the dam in North Lake Park.
Some council members, especially 3rd Ward representative Jon Van Harlingen, perhaps favor a delay until after the first of the year.
That’s when overall city finances will be better known and perhaps more will be known about the rules regarding American Rescue Plan funds — and the availability of a $1 trillion infrastructure bill currently being debated in Congress.
If that’s the case, with four council seats up for election Nov. 2, it’s possible new local lawmakers will join the debate on a project that was first discussed six years ago.
Such a delay was actually proposed in August by city engineer Bob Bianchi, who likely feared the possibility council may reject the design effort, putting the project on the shelf for an undetermined period of time.
“If it does fail (a final vote), obviously we wouldn’t be bringing it back for who knows when, right?” Bianchi asked City Council, suggesting a better alternative could be waiting.
“It’s just a thought,” the engineer said.
Van Harlingen, the council finance committee chair who has expressed the most concerns about the city’s water and sewer funds, quickly expressed possible support for the delay.
“We brought this thing out of (public utilities) committee and we put it in for the full (three) readings. What’s gonna happen is at the end of September we are on a deadline where we are going to have vote one way or the other.
“I think the concerns and comments about the finances and the water and sewer funds and what’s going right now … postponing and/or tabling until after the first of the year when we know where our funds are at (may be a good idea).
“We’re only talking about another four or five months … that’s a thought worth keeping in the back of everybody’s mind because that could be a discussion on down the road,” Van Harlingen said.
The dry dam is just one of almost 30 pieces of legislation council will tackle on Tuesday during a night that includes five committee meetings (finance at 5:55 p.m., public utilities at 6:10 p.m., claims at 6:20 p.m., streets at 6:25 p.m. and public affairs at 6:30 p.m.
Also on the schedule is a public hearing at 6:45 p.m. and caucus at 7 p.m., followed immediately by council’s legislative session.
