FELLSMERE — It isn’t the amount city leaders were hoping for, but the $20,250 grant the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program awarded Fellsmere will help offset the cost of a nearly $49,000 study to determine how best to handle the city’s stormwater needs.
“This will get us going,” City Manager Jason Nunemaker told the Fellsmere City Council Thursday evening, noting that he had hoped for full funding from the estuary program.
Instead, the city will have to pony up the remaining $28,500 in cash and staff work to match with the grant. The plan is required to be completed by September.
The stormwater master plan is expected to focus on the historic city – about two square miles – except for where the city could make use of annexed lands for stormwater.
Nunemaker told the council that the plan for managing stormwater runoff in the city is a necessity and should be done looking at the city as a whole instead of property by property.
“We don’t want dry retention pond after dry retention pond after dry retention pond,” he said.
Fellsmere currently requires developments to take care of water runoff on site, which takes up considerable space on a property and makes development of small parcels a challenge. To that end, the city hopes to come up with options for handling stormwater needs for several properties together.
The result would allow for more development of smaller properties as well as improve water quality and the environment. The master plan is expected to help identify ways the city can prevent pollution from reaching the various waterways, including the Indian River Lagoon, via the city’s canal system.
“We have a good swale system,” Nunemaker told the council. But that system merely moves water, it doesn’t help filter it.
The council unanimously supported getting started on the study as well as hiring Carter Associates to help the city develop the master plan.
Nunemaker told the council that they could expect to see a modification to the work agreement come forward in the near future as there is need to expand the scope of work.
“At the end of the day, we’ll have a much better product,” he said, explaining that the city needs to work with the Fellsmere Water Control District, too, to ensure the appropriate data is collected.
Councilwoman Sara Savage, who is known for questioning work order changes on city projects, said she could understand the need for this future request and appreciated the head’s up.
Mayor Susan Adams, too, supported the need, noting that it would be better to do the project all at once rather than by piecemeal.
“Drainage around here is what makes or breaks us as a city,” Adams said.