The town of Culver is staying busy with several ongoing projects, and Town Manager David Schoeff said they’re moving forward with their storm water project courtesy of a grant from the Office of Community and Rural Affairs. Schoeff said the $792,000 grant will fund the majority of their $892,000 project, which aims to alleviate some flooding near the elementary school area.
The town had previously earmarked $100,000 for the project back in 2010 when they first began seeking the grant, and since then, the price has not changed – the money is still earmarked and ready for the work.
Schoeff said the town recently signed the agreement with OCRA to move forward, and they’ve hired an engineer and grant writers to get the process moving. He said work is expected to begin by summer with the moving of dirt in the area, and then tiles and drains will be replaced in the affected area, which he said is currently draining storm water into an illegal drain. When the dilapidated tile and drains are replaced, the problem should be alleviated.
The next step, Schoeff said, is to get OCRA up-to-date with reports and received their approval. He said the town has turned in environmental documents and historical documents outlining any negative impacts from the project, and he said that since there are no major impacts, the approval should not be a problem. The engineering firm is working on some preliminary work, and once that’s done, Schoeff said the design process will begin followed by bidding.
Schoeff said the earliest start date for the work would begin in August and he expects the work to be completed before the first snow hits toward the end of this year. OCRA has a specific timeline that projects must meet, and he said they hope to be done before the deadline.
