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What those “other projects” are remains unclear, City Administrator Dan Matejka said.
The $1.2 million comes from funds originally appropriated in a September 2007 flood relief bill for southeast Minnesota victims of August floods. Department of Natural Resources officials were scrambling to disburse the money to individuals and local governments by a June 30 deadline.
Matejka said Goodview originally asked the DNR for $650,000 for the lake outlet and $500,000 to realign a road to protect a subdivision that flooded last August.
The latter proposal would have realigned Old Minnesota City Road to run north and south, or parallel to Garvin Brook, which topped its banks and flooded Goodview’s Sunny Acres subdivision. If the brook floods again, officials theorized, the realigned road could serve as a levee to protect the subdivision.
However, Matejka said officials have since reconsidered the proposal based on its potential effect on Minnesota City and Goodview’s Gunderson and Saehler subdivisions, which also flooded last August.
“No matter where you would redirect the water, it’s got to end up someplace,” Matejka said. “We don’t want to create problems for someone else.”
Goodview has commissioned an engineering study of how the road realignment proposal would affect surrounding areas, Matejka said.
The study — which will also identify other possible flood-protection projects — should be completed in about a month, he added.
City officials will discuss how to proceed with the funds at their regular meeting at 5 p.m. Monday at Goodview City Hall.
Contact Mark Sommerhauser at (507) 453-3514 or msommerhauser@winonadailynews.com
