9 12 11 Work Session Upper Bee Branch Creek Design Phase II_Staff Memo
TO:
Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM:
Deron Muehring, Civil Engineer
DATE:
September 9, 2011
SUBJECT:
Upper Bee Branch Creek Restoration Project
(CIP# 7201654)
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this memo is to provide materials for the City Council Work Session
scheduled for September 12, 2011 on the Upper Bee Branch Creek Restoration Project.
BACKGROUND
In 2001 the Drainage Basin Master Plan identified three projects to provide flood
protection for 1,150 properties within the Bee Branch Watershed: the Carter Road
Detention Basin, the West 32nd Street Detention Basin, and the Bee Branch Creek
Restoration Project.
In May of 2003, the City of Dubuque City Council approved the selection of CDM, a
consulting engineering firm, to provide engineering and design services for the Bee
Branch Creek Alignment Study. The study objectives were to:
1) Establish the optimum alignment for the proposed open waterway along its
approximately 4,500-foot length (from 16th Street detention basin to 24th and Elm
Streets) based on existing environmental, utility, social, and economic constraints;
2) Provide a preliminary design to a level that it establishes what the waterway will look
like at different locations along its entire length and how the waterway will function
before, during, and after rainstorms of different magnitudes; and
3) Work with impacted residents in the form of a citizen advisory committee, the Bee
Branch Citizen Advisory Committee (BBCAC), to ensure that the recommended
alignment location and waterway design are based on input from the neighborhoods
impacted by the proposed open waterway.
The citizen committee’s preferred alignment was presented to the City Council in a letter
from BBCAC Chairperson Charles Winterwood. The BBCAC’s preferred alignment was
chosen because it best met the top three criteria established by the BBCAC: it
preserved commercial and non-commercial services; it minimized residential property
acquisitions; and it minimize the project cost. The preferred alignment impacted sixty-
five (65) residential homes and fifteen (15) non-residential buildings.
In December of 2004, the City Council adopted the alignment preferred by the BBCAC.
This is the current alignment proposed for the project.
In August of 2008, the City Council authorized the hiring of Strand & Associates
(Madison, WI), in association with IIW Engineers (Dubuque, IA) and Ken Saiki Design
(Madison, WI), to prepare the final design of the Bee Branch Creek Restoration Project.
As outlined in the scope of services, the consultant team utilized the engineering study
previously performed and reported in the Bee Branch Creek Alignment Study to design
the improvements of Bee Branch Creek Restoration Project. Input was to gather and
utilize input from citizens as they crafted the design of the final landscaping plan for the
project.
The City hosted a series of workshops to help gather citizen input. A press release was
issued before each workshop and over 2,000 post cards were sent to targeted
neighborhoods. At the first workshop held in October of 2008, citizens were asked to
identify their hopes and fears for the project. In addition, they were asked to provide
input on the various potential landscape features, bridges, and secondary uses (paths,
park benches, playground equipment, etc.). At the second workshop in November of
2008 and again in January of 2009, the design team presented conceptual drawings
that began to address the citizen’s hopes and fears as well as their landscape
preferences. And finally, at the third workshop in February of 2009, the design concept
based on citizen direction was presented to the public for comment.
DISCUSSION
Starting where the design left off in January of 2009, and based on the input gathered
through various public input sessions, the design team has been working out the finer
details of the Upper Bee Branch Project. The project was presented to the North End
neighborhood Association on September 7, 2011 and a presentation will be made to the
City Council on September 12, 2011 outlining in more detail the various elements of the
project. The presentation can be viewed prior to the meeting by going to the City’s ftp
site and downloading either the MS PowerPoint or Adobe Acrobat versions at:
https://cityofdubuque.sharefile.com/d/sea935276b034a438
ACTION TO BE TAKEN
No action is required. This memo is for informational purposes only.
cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney
Jenny Larson, Budget Director
Ken TeKippe, Finance Director
Gus Psihoyos, City Engineer
Jerelyn O’Connor, Neighborhood Development Specialist
Marie Ware, Leisure Services Manager
Don Vogt, Public Works Director