Cedar Rapids council approves infrastructure removal in flood area

CEDAR RAPIDS - The City Council has approved the removal of some of the streets, sidewalks, storm sewers, sanitary sewers and trees in Time Check and in the neighborhood below the Czech Village commercial district to make way for flood protection.

What is removed isn't needed, because most of the homes that had stood in the neighborhoods have been bought out as part of the city's flood-recovery buyout program and demolished, city officials have said.

Doug Wilson, the city's capital improvement project manager, told the council that work should start by late February with final seeding on the project sites to be done in late August 2015.

Wilson said the city has obtained $1.6 million in federal disaster funds to remove infrastructure. The cost estimate for this removal is $1.38 million. The city also will seek bids for additional work to remove Second Street NW between First Avenue NW and A Avenue NW, and to construct three athletic fields in Time Check and one in the area below Czech Village.

The cost estimate for the additional work is $440,000, Wilson said.

The athletic fields can be altered if required by the alignment of the city's flood-protection system.

Wilson said that infrastructure removal project will add some turnarounds where portions of remaining streets will end abruptly once the removal is complete.

Wilson informed council members that 73 trees will come down (59 in Time Check, 14 in Czech Village) as part of the removal of infrastructure and another 121 trees (105 in Time Check, 16 in Czech Village) would come down if the four athletic fields are put in place.

Wilson said most of the 73 trees are in the city right of way between the sidewalk and street and wouldn't survive the project and the grading that is part of it.

City Council member Monica Vernon said she would like the city to see if could save some of the trees to be cut down, but none of her council colleagues seconded her concern. Wilson said the city will plant replacement trees once the city decides on the alignment for the flood-protection system.

In September 2014, the council imposed a moratorium on investment in much of Time Check so the owners of 19 remaining properties in the area don't invest only to see their properties purchased to make way for the city's coming flood-protection system.