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Second phase of drainage project to begin
Third stage is now being planned, residential areas on future to-do list
By THOMAS MICHALSKI
Article published on Friday, March 9, 2007 |
PINELLAS PARK – The second of the three-phase Park Boulevard Drainage Improvement Project begins this summer, and city officials already are seeking funds for the third and last phase that is expected to prevent most flooding.
The first $5.2-million phase is completed and crews will soon start Phase 2, which will cost $10.7 million.
The final Phase 3 is estimated to cost $13.6 million, but that may increase due to escalating costs for concrete and other supplies.
The total tab for the three-phase project is about $30 million. Pinellas County, the state and Federal government are picking up a good portion.
That price does not include land purchases of $428,100 for Phase 2 and $1.2 million for the third phase of the program that is still some time away.
Scott Pinheiro, director of engineering, said once the project is done the city will concentrate on storm water improvements in residential areas. That means storm pipe replacement or relining present systems, some of which run between buildings and other difficult locations.
“Some pipes are 50 and more years old,” Pinheiro said.
Pinellas Park always has been a flood area. In the early 1900s the then-Pinellas Farms was parceled out to northerners for flower and sugar cane crops. Heavy rains flooded what would become Pinellas Park, a section that is shaped like a bowl.
Flooding became an enormous problem as the city prospered. Some major roads, especially Park Boulevard, until recently were impassible during and after storms. Homes were flooded and cars were ruined.
“It was in the late 1990s when we decided to take drastic steps to improve the storm water system,” Pinheiro said.
Armed with photographs depicting flooded streets, Pinheiro and other city officials began looking for funding. One photo in particular shows an ambulance trying to make its way down Park Boulevard.
“We asked lawmakers a simple question, ‘What if your wife or daughter was in that ambulance?” Pinheiro said. “That picture made a powerful statement.”
The plan called for a drainage system capable of handing a 25-year storm event, an estimate when a major storm might occur.
Then along came February 2006 when 16 inches of water fell in parts of Pinellas County. It was a 100-year storm, or one of major proportions that theoretically could only happen every century.
Places like Madeira Beach, Treasure Island and other beach communities are more concerned over tidal flooding than storm water.
“We received the backing of those communities whose residents use Park Boulevard during evacuations,” Pinheiro said.
The responsibility of seeking county, state and Federal money fell on Dennis Shaw, the city’s grant writer. Stan Emerson, a city engineer, coordinates the actual construction.
Of the $5.3-million needed for Phase 1, the city’s obligation came only to $1.6 million. The rest was financed by Pinellas County, the Florida Department of Transportation and by a discretionary grant from the Federal government.
The $10.8-million for Phase 2 costs the city only $3.25 million. Federal transportation funds paid $3.9 million, while county and city water authorities kicked in $608,000 and $3 million, respectively.
Part of the Pinellas Park Water District money came from the $2 residential and $4 commercial fees on utility bills that began on Jan. 1. The monthly fees in some Pinellas County communities are much higher, upwards to $9 each month in some municipalities.
Because supply and other expenses are rising, the Phase 3 cost can only be estimated. That means the entire $29.6 million to complete the entire project can easily cost millions more, considering in 2001 the estimated total cost was $17.66-million.
None of this guarantees that Pinellas Park will never again be flooded. The chances are it will not happen unless another 100-year storm or hurricane comes along. Then there is nothing anybody can do to prevent what such a surge of water would cause.
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Article published on Friday, March 9, 2007
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