(Okoboji)– Meeting in special session Wednesday evening, the Okoboji city council Wednesday evening reviewed plans for a couple of low impact development projects in the city. One is for a residential development–the other is for several streets that will be reconstructed. They hope the projects will serve as models for other cities. Okoboji has lead the way by being the first city in Dickinson county to adopt a new zoning ordinance based on low impact development principles.
The council approved a Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation waiving the preliminary plat and approving the final plat for a three-lot subdivision that will have to abide by the new low impact development ordinance. As a result, Jim Blum, an engineer on the project, said the subdivision will have to complete atleast two of three different options. They include deep tilling of soil to improve porosity; provisions for water channelization; and two small rain gardens.
The street reconstruction project will include resurfacing of several streets on the city’s west side near West Lake Okoboji. They include Tarzan Street, Nichols Avenue, Parkview Avenue, Hollingsworth Street and Echo Bay Avenue. The streets will be resurfaced with Portland Cement. The low impact project will also include the construction of 3,400 yards of bio retention cells to hold and filter run-off water before it gets into the lake. The cells are designed for rainfall rates of up to 1.25 inches per hour.
The combined street projects have a total estimated cost of slightly more than a million dollars.
The council directed Beck Engineering to proceed to the final design phase with the project. It will more than likely be done in phases…with the first one being done this fall and the second next spring.
The Okoboji city council also Wednesday approved a budget amendment reflecting an unanticipated 841-thousand dollars in additional expenses–most of that for legal fees; and an additional 732-thousand dollars in additional revenue that hadn’t been expected earlier.
They adopted a resolution conveying a quit claim deed transferring ownership of the land on which the former city hall building stands to Mau Marine in exchange for Mau transferring land it owned west of Tweeter’s to the city for a new public works building, which is now complete. The city also received some cash as part of the deal.
The council also went into a closed session to discuss litigation.
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