City of Wheaton City Council met Aug. 31.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
1. Call to Order
The Wheaton City Council Planning Session was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Suess. The following were:
Physically Present: Mayor Suess
Councilman Barbier
Councilwoman Bray-Parker
Councilwoman Fitch
Councilwoman Robbins
Councilman Rutledge
Councilman Zaruba
City Staff Physically Present: Michael Dzugan, City Manager
John Duguay, Assistant City Manager
Joseph Tebrugge, Director of Engineering
Patrick Keegan, Assistant Director of IT
Susan Bishel, Public Information Officer
Kristopher Dunn, Stormwater Engineer
2. Public Comment
There were no public comments.
3. Comprehensive Parking Study Update
Assistant City Manager Duguay reviewed the Comprehensive Parking Study that was initiated by the City’s engineering consultant, Carl Walker, as an evaluation of current parking technologies and policies. The study recommended that the City implement a new parking payment system in a phased approach. Phase 1 included the implementation of a mobile payment platform, multiple pay kiosks and a license plate recognition (LPR) reader system focusing primarily on commuter lots and leased parking associated with the Train Stations. The City is currently in Phase 2 of the system implementation that focuses on the analysis of the customer parking and a determination of certain timed parking limits.
Assistant City Manager Duguay stated that coordination with the LPR system’s vendor was difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic but the City’s IT Department was able to provide resolutions for technology challenges. The data that has been collected shows low commuter numbers because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and City staff does not recommend using this data to guide decision-making at this time, as it is not an accurate measure of typical traffic.
Assistant IT Director Keegan provided an overview of the LPR reader system’s process for collecting parking utilization data.
Assistant IT Director Keegan presented the LPR reader system’s data integrated with the City’s mapping software. City staff had created a segmented traffic pattern of the City then utilized the LPR reader system to observe utilization of parking areas over time as a preliminary study. The map displays a visualization of data for specific parking places and entire street sections for different dates and times.
City Manager Dzugan stated that the collected data could be utilized in making future recommendations for Downtown parking restrictions and assist with evaluating the amount of parking needed for future property developments.
In response to a question from the Council, Assistant City Manager Duguay stated that it is difficult to evaluate 30-minute parking areas due to the amount of time for enforcement officers to revisit those areas.
In response to a question from the Council, Assistant City Manager Duguay stated that the City would be looking into different parking technologies to notify drivers of parking availability in parking garages.
In response to a Council question, Assistant IT Director Keegan stated that there is currently no data for parking during the weekend, but once the technology is in place, an analysis can be performed at any day or time.
In response to a question from the Council, City Manager Dzugan stated that once data representing typical use has been collected, the City could discuss making a more uniform determination of timed parking limits.
4. Flood Resiliency Investigation - Part 2
City Manager Dzugan provided an overview of the presentation stating that there will be three proposed plans of action to address overland flooding presented that will include buyouts, floodproofing, and the construction of new public infrastructure projects. He commented that this is an initial discussion to develop a policy to address flooding within the City, and discussion about funding for these actions will be covered in a later meeting.
Director of Engineering Tebrugge provided a recap of Flood Resiliency Investigation – Part 1, which discussed the type of flooding the City is investigating, overland flooding. Overland flooding occurs when stormwater directly enters a structure through a door, window, over a foundation, or over a window well. In response to the City’s overland flooding issues, the City had initiated the Overland Flooding Mitigation Action Plan in 2010 to investigate the causes of overland flooding during distinct rain events. There are three distinct areas of overland flooding that include floodplain areas, flood prone areas, and site-specific flooding areas.
The City’s investigation of overland flooding was based on the number of structures that were affected by 10-year, 25-year, 50-year, and 100-year storms, with 2010 initial projections estimating that overland flooding occurred 35.9% in floodplain areas with 5 structures being affected by a 100-year storm, 37% in flood prone areas with 15 structures being affected by a 100-year storm, and 27.1% in site-specific flooding areas with 93 structures being affected by a 100-year storm. The City’s 2020 confirmed results from the investigation shown overland flooding occurred 15% in floodplain areas with 69 structures being affected by a 100-year storm, 53.5% in flood prone areas with 246 structures being affected by a 100-year storm, and 31.5% in site specific flooding areas with 145 structures being affected by a 100-year storm.
Director of Engineering Tebrugge stated that the Flood Resiliency Investigation – Part 2 presentation will discuss options to increase overall flood resiliency and the creation of a Flood Protection Program. The presentation will provide four topics of discussion for each of the three types of flooding areas (floodplain areas, flood prone areas, and site specific flood areas) that include the frequency of flooding, potential flood resiliency projects, metrics to weigh potential project options, and total cost exposure. Potential projects that can decrease overland flooding include buying out properties and demolishing the structure, flood-proofing the structures, and initiating Capital Improvement projects. A potential Flood Protection Program could provide coverage based on the amount of structures affected by 10-year, 25-year, 50-year, and 100-year storms.
Director of Engineering Tebrugge reviewed the details of overland flooding for floodplain areas, stating that 69 structures are affected by 100-year storms, 43 structures are affected by 50-year storms, 19 structures are affected by 25-year storms, and 8 structures are affected by 10-year storms. Potential projects to decrease overland flooding in floodplain areas are limited to buyouts at an estimate of $24.5 million or floodproofing at an estimate of $4.5 million to cover all 65 structures affected by a 100-year storm. He commented that structures cannot be improved or repaired more than 50% of the value of the household without bringing the entire structure up to FEMA code.
In response to questions from the Council, most of the City’s structures were built after floodplains were identified by FEMA, and most residents were unaware that their properties were located within a floodplain.
Director of Engineering Tebrugge reviewed the details of overland flooding for flood prone areas, stating that 246 structures are affected by 100-year storms, 193 structures are affected by 50-year storms, 128 structures are affected by 25-year storms, 79 structures are affected by 10-year storms, and 31 structures are affected by 5-year storms.
Director of Engineering Tebrugge reviewed the FEMA benefit-cost analysis (BCA) software that provides a potential cost of damages when a specific storm event (100-year, 50-year, etc.) occurs. He commented that to receive any potential federal financial assistance, the City would have to utilize FEMA’s BCA software. Based on the BCA software’s analysis, the cost of damages that could occur to flood prone structures affected by 100-year storms would be approximately $76 million, $71.2 million for 50-year storms, $63 million for 25-year storms, $54.5 million for 10-year storms, and $15 million for 5-year storms.
In response to a question from the Council, the analysis of damage costs would be cumulative over time, as significant storm events can occur more frequently than their name states.
In response to Council questions, Director of Engineering Tebrugge stated that most mitigation projects will occur on private property as opposed to public property. He stated that FEMA’s BCA software requires data entry to include the property costs, and FEMA is more likely to suggest buying properties out due to the overall cost of floodproofing structures. However, because property values in Wheaton are significantly higher than in rural areas, buyouts are not as likely to be cost-effective here.
In response to a questions from the Council, Director of Engineering Tebrugge stated that the overall cost associated with floodproofing structures included minimal mitigation strategies such as installing window wells and removing basement doors, and more complex mitigation strategies such as raising entire structures. He stated that approximately 50% of the 246 structures would need to have their structures raised.
Director of Engineering Tebrugge provided an overview of the City’s 17 flood prone areas to show the area, potential project, cost of project, the damages calculated by FEMA’s BCA software, the BCA’s scoring system, and the amount of flooding structures that could be eliminated. The BCA software established a scoring system using the damages of each area and compares the cost of potential projects to rank projects that should be considered for public funding. A BCA score must be above 1.0 to be considered for federal funding, however the City is not required to follow this requirement in deciding which projects to fund. Director of Engineering Tebrugge provided an additional overview of the level of potential disruptions projects may create if initiated.
City Manager Dzugan stated that certain flood prone areas would need cooperation with other organizations to proceed with mitigation efforts.
In response to a question from the Council, the City has never had a buy-out program and residents of DuPage County who have utilized the County buy-out program are not disclosed.
Director of Engineering Tebrugge stated that almost all flood protection projects occur on private property and public support or consent would be needed to proceed with mitigation efforts.
Actions to decrease overland flooding are limited to buyouts at an estimate of $83 million, floodproofing at an estimate of $15.5 million, or Capital Improvement Projects at an estimate of $41.6 million to cover all 246 structures affected by a 100-year storm. Based on the FEMA BCA project data, floodproofing ranked the highest in applicability and a mixed use of projects to mitigate overland flooding in flood prone areas would be approximately $13 million.
Director of Engineering Tebrugge reviewed the details of site-specific flooding for floodplain areas, stating that 145 structures are affected and potential projects would require only minor floodproofing costing approximately $1.45 million, or small-scaled regrading of properties costing approximately $725,000.
The total minimum preliminary cost estimate to eliminate all overland flooding within the City using the highest FEMA BCA scoring projects would be approximately $18.5 million to mitigate over $76 million of damages in floodplain, flood prone, and site-specific areas.
City staff recommends developing more detailed information on flood proofing and presenting what flood proofing would look like for a few structures in one of the City’s flood prone areas. Staff would return to Council with a flood proofing information package and details about potential outside grant funding.
In response to a question from the Council, opportunities for additional detention areas are limited due to the amount of nearby land needed for storing a large amount of water.
In response to questions from the Council, existing stormwater pipes were installed to match the 10-year standards of the time they were installed, and much of the City’s system does not meet the current 10-year standard. To reinstall new larger pipes in areas could be difficult, as there is not enough depressional area to create the slope needed to maintain the flow of the stormwater capacity and additional stormwater could create problems in other areas with additional flow.
In response to a question from the Council, consideration for sediment control of streamways was not included as part of the overland flooding study. The cleaning of waterways would be considered maintenance projects and the City would not be allowed to make changes to waterways, as they could create issues in other areas.
5. City Council/City Staff Comments
City Manager Dzugan notified the Council that the Strategic Planning Workshop will take place on September 12.
Mayor Suess congratulated School District 200’s Jefferson School for its opening of the school and wished good luck to all the students starting school in Wheaton this week.
6. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 9:24 p.m.
https://www.wheaton.il.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_08312020-1437
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