MANSFIELD — The long and winding road to a $25 million proposed earthen dry dam — aimed at alleviating flooding on Mansfield’s north side — would likely need significant federal grants to complete.
One significant such grant could come through the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the form of a Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) award, which supports states and local communities with hazard mitigation projects, reducing the risks from disasters and natural hazards.
If FEMA is on board with a plan that was first discussed seven years ago, it would give the project a significant jump start.
The Mansfield Board of Control on Tuesday approved a $72,770 additional contract with EMHT. The Columbus-based company is nearing the completion of a two-year design project on the effort planned for North Lake Park known as the Touby Run Flood Mitigation Project.
EMHT, awarded a $1.5 million contract to design the dam in 2022, will prepare an application for FEMA that will “provide the (agency) with an opportunity to review and comment” to make sure the mapping meets its standards.
That work will take about nine months, according to Bianchi.
Funds for the additional work will come from the sewer fund’s contractual services, according to Mansfield city engineer Bob Bianchi.
The dam would be built at the west end of North Lake Park, including a concrete spillway. At its highest point, it would reach nearly five stories high.
According to the EMHT, the dry dam would reduce the potential for inundation of land, buildings and key transportation corridors during the 1-percent annual (100-year) flood event.
“The project will include the relocation of the B&O Trail, including a pedestrian bridge, improvements to utilities within the footprint of the dam embankment, as well as storm sewer improvements extending east from North Main Street to a new outlet to Rocky Fork,” according to the proposal.
The goal of the project is to significantly reduce flood hazards along the downstream reach of Touby Run, “to the extent that the 100-year floodplain does not overflow North Main Street, north of West Sixth Street.”
Ultimately, FEMA will determine if the massive dry dam will lift 106 acres of homes and businesses on the city’s north side out of the flood plain, according to city engineer Bob Bianchi.
“That’s the ultimate goal we have had since day one — getting that floodplain determination lifted so we can promote economic development and revitalize that area. That’s the goal,” he said.
He said the city and EMHT have worked with multiple agencies on the design, including the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Arm Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
He said the plan had been to work with FEMA after construction of the dam since the agency ultimately would determine if the floodplain designation could be lifted.
“That, of course, is the ultimate goal that we’re seeking. It’s been determined we should coordinate with FEMA now that we’re getting close to final design.
“If they do have any tweaks or things they’d like to see changed, it’s appropriate that we learn that now. So this proposal is to include the work needed to coordinate with FEMA for the (dry dam) project,” the engineer said during the control board meeting.
The engineer said the “Conditional Letter of Map Revision” application will be the final design step required.
It will also provide an enhanced visualization of the project previously provided to the city.
“I believe this will seal the deal in terms of the design efforts that are needed to get the full set of plans completed,” Bianchi said.
The federal sign-off is crucial, according to the engineer.
“This project will not be (built), cannot be built, in my opinion, without federal money. So we’re going to try like heck and apply, apply again and apply again to (the point where) we’re annoying and they finally say, ‘Give Mansfield the $25 million.’
“There are grant funding sources out there for a project like this. We just have to be very aggressive and we think it’ll be very competitive,” Bianchi said.
“(The BRIC) is the funding source we’re really trying to get,” he said.
Costs have gone up since the plan was first discussed several years ago when the estimate was around $15.5 million, largely due to inflation.
“Plus, ODNR is requiring some things that we didn’t think necessarily needed to be done, but they are the ones who write the permit. So there’s a few things that added cost with their review,” Bianchi said.
He said there will also be costs associated with wetlands mitigation required by the EPA.
Mayor Jodie Perry said it makes sense to get FEMA involved in the planning process.
“I do think it makes sense that we get the preview from FEMA to ensure that all the models indeed are correct and that they agree with all the assessments. If anything were to come back different, we would want to know before we spend tens of millions of dollars,” the mayor said.
Perry presides over Board of Control meetings with Finance Director Kelly Blankenship and Safety Service Director Keith Porch.
Bianchi has said there are actually three components to the overall Touby Run flood mitigation project — the actual dry dam; the creation of a retention basin in South Park; and a “mass fill” effort on North Main Street near Sixth Street to keep water from spilling over the banks of Touby’s Run.
Council agreed in October 2023 to the mass fill at a section on the west side of North Main Street to keep water inside the Touby Run channel.
The $1.7 million project will also re-route the existing storm sewer system, moving storm water toward the east into the Rocky Fork.
Bianchi said $1.25 million for the project will come from the city’s sewer fund and a $450,000 Ohio Public Works Commission grant will pay for the remainder.
Plans are done for the stormwater retention basin at South Park, but it has not been bid out yet. Bianchi has said that project will cost more than $1 million.
