The Albert Lea City Council got more information Monday into various proposals to solve the flooding problem on East Main Street.

Greg Fransen with Barr Engineering said for the last two years the engineering firm has worked with the city and state to look at options to alleviate the flooding, particularly near Hanson Tire and Godfather’s Pizza, that has led to the closure of the roadway for days and even weeks. The project is of particular importance as the Minnesota Department of Transportation has slated to reconstruct the road in 2021.

Fransen said on a sunny day with normal water levels on Albert Lea Lake, the normal elevation of the lake is 1,209 feet and the elevation of the road is 1,211.4 feet. The railroad elevation was raised to 1,215 feet. There is a storm sewer that takes water off the road through catch basins, and a pipe essentially discharges that extra water into the lake.

He said the road has seen various levels of flooding caused by both local flooding events that are caused by downpours of an inch of rain or more and regional flooding events that impact numerous parts of the city caused by high water on Albert Lea Lake after widespread multi-inch rainstorms or rapid snowmelt. The road has been closed for various lengths of time ranging from a few hours to as much as two weeks, such as in 2016.

He said the firm identified water levels for 10-year floods of Albert Lea Lake to be at 1213.3 feet and 100-year flood events to be at 1216.6 feet.

Some of the options the firm looked at to address both short-term and long-term flooding events including increasing inlet capacity for water flowing into the storm sewer system and installing back-flow prevention on the pipe that discharges water into the lake. 

Fransen said the increased inlet capacity would be beneficial during local flooding events but not the regional flooding events. The back-flow prevention device would be helpful for regional flooding events but not be as helpful for local flooding events.

The firm also looked at raising the road two feet at the low points, which would allow 10-year levels of service for both local and regional flood events, he said.

This option is estimated to cost between $1.6 million and $6.3 million, not including right-of-way acquisition, land purchases or operations and management costs.

Some of the challenges of this option would be the tie-ins to businesses and street intersections and that it would have a larger construction footprint, he said.

Ponding areas would be needed to direct water to flow away from the businesses.

During grading and excavating, soils found to be contaminated would have to be disposed of properly. He said contaminants were found in the low-lying areas.

The final option the firm considered was constructing a pump station, estimated at $1.4 million to $5.7 million, without costs involved with right-of-way acquisition, land purchases or operations and management.

In this option, a pump holding pond would be on the south side of the roadway. Water would draw from the pond and be discharged through a pressurized force main.

A back-flow flap would be installed to prevent backflow, but the road would not need to be raised with this option. New pipe would be run under the northbound lane of the road and pump all the way up to near the Fountain Lake channel.

Fransen said this option would provide a 25-year level of service and would benefit adjacent property owners. The challenges would be the cost of operations and maintenance of the pump and constructing a holding pond to act as a reservoir.

City Engineer Steven Jahnke estimated the operations and maintenance cost to be about $30,000 annually.

Greg Paulson with the Minnesota Department of Transportation said MnDOT will work with the city on the decision. He noted though he originally preferred the option for the pump station, he also now supports the option to raise the road based on discussions that have taken place regarding ponding areas.

The city is lobbying for funds for the flood mitigation and so far has been included in Gov. Tim Walz’s bonding proposal for $3.5 million. The Senate and House have not yet released their bills.

In other action, the council:

• Held a public hearing and approved a resolution ordering the improvement of plans for the 2020 neighborhood improvement overlay and James Avenue reconstruction.

The project calls for a bituminous overlay on portions of Sunset Street, Campus Drive, Campus Lane, Trollwood Drive, Meadow Lane, Seath Drive, Westwood Drive, Hale Drive, Crystal Drive, Silver Lane, Quisley Street, Plaza Street, Ekko Avenue, Frank Hall Drive and 10th Street.

It also includes a complete reconstruction of James Avenue from Eighth Street to Seventh Street.

Sections of curb and gutter that have settled or causing drainage issues would also be replaced, along with damaged or uneven sidewalk and sidewalk pedestrian ramps.

On James Avenue, there will be a complete replacement of the surface, curb and gutter, waterman, sanitary sewer and storm sewer.

The entire project is estimated at $1.62 million and would be paid for with assessments, general obligation bonding money, sanitary sewer funds and water funds.

• Accepted bids and awarded the project for the inspection and painting of the north water tower near Brookside Education Center.

Eight bids were received for the project, and the council approved the low bid by Classic Protective Coating Inc. of Menomonie, Wisconsin, for just shy of $490,000.

The engineer’s estimate was $475,000.

The project includes sandblasting and repainting the interior and exterior of the 300,000-gallon elevated storage tank, as well as small modifications to the tank to improve safety and operations.

• Approved the purchase of a mini-rescue apparatus for the fire department.

The apparatus is the primary medical response vehicle used to carry technical rescue equipment.

City Manager David Todd said it was originally scheduled to be purchased in 2022, but is being moved up because the motor is damaged and unrepairable.

The apparatus will be purchased through the Houston-Galveston Area Council or the Minnesota state bid process and will not exceed $250,000.

• Approved replacing a pickup for the street department. The pickup being replaced is a 2005 Ford F-550 and has been used for sign installation and maintenance operations.

It will be replaced with a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 and will have a custom truck bed added to the chassis to allow tool and material storage. It will also have a small crane to add in installation of sign posts using a pneumatic jack hammer.

The total cost of the new equipment is about $70,000, which was budgeted.

The old pickup will be sold as surplus equipment.

• Approved the replacement of a 2005 CAT 143H motor grader used by the street department for grading alleys and streets, shouldering and snow removal.

The replacement unit is a 2020 CAT 140 motor grader and will be outfitted with a wing for snow removal.

Total cost of the new equipment is about $264,000. The item was budgeted for $300,000, and the old unit will be traded to the dealer.

• Mayor Vern Rasmussen Jr. read a proclamation regarding Albert Lea Public Library’s participation in a Food for Fines campaign. For every nonperishable food item donated during the month of March, a person can receive a coupon valued at $2 off his or her library fines.

• Approved a policy for the Albert Lea Public Library regarding adoption of a First Amendment audit.