Staff writer
The city hopes to find a grant to pay for needed repairs to a broken curb and guttering on Elm St. that allowed water to stream down the east bank of Luta Creek in May and cause it to collapse
Marion public works employees are preparing Luta Creek’s east bank for needed repairs, but fixing street curbing will wait.
During May’s heavy rains, water flowed through broken and missing sections of curb. The water washed away portions of the bank and carried trees down into the creek. The curb had been broken since at least 2014.
Public works employees have removed fallen trees and branches from the creek bed. Now an access road will be built to allow heavy equipment to reach the areas of creek bank that need work.
After the access road is complete, contractors will stabilize and rebuild the creek bank itself. Under the terms of the grant, that work must be finished by March 20.
The contractors’ work will be paid with a $219,750 grant from United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The city’s $73,250 matching portion of the grant is being fulfilled by the public works department.
Once the creek bank is rebuilt, the broken curb and gutter will be next on the list of things to do.
“Our city crews are going to repair that curb after we get the bank stabilization done,” said city administrator Roger Holter.
Holter said the city will apply for a Kansas Department of Transportation grant in hopes it will pay for or defray the cost of curb and gutter repairs. The deadline to apply is March 1, Holter said.
Holter said he expects KDOT to announce whether the city will get the grant by June 30, the end of the state fiscal year.
“There’s no guarantee on the grant funds,” Holter said.
Although curb and guttering needs replaced, the street bed itself is undamaged, Holter said.