4 March 2012 • Vol. 17, No. 3 Flooded –Continued from page 1
channel blocks, road raises, and levees to drainage features and culverts, says Doug Schonert, chairman of the Bur- leigh County Commission. He says many groups will work to- gether to both fund and complete these projects including Burleigh County, the county’s Water Resource District, the project areas’ residents and the state. The Burleigh County Road Department would be responsible for funding the projects along the public roadways, says Schonert, and this would be done primarily with gas tax revenue. “It is important to us to build the
roads up to the 20-foot lood level to ensure residents in the lood plain have access to their homes during future lood events,” Schonert says, adding levees included in the plan will be paid through special assessments. Although the plan still needs to
receive inal support from the im- pacted parties, including land and homeowners, Schonert says this type of planning is also important to future development in the community and county. “Through planning now, it will be reconsidered where building will be allowed, because from our experiences last year, we now know where the water will low.” “The whole exercise of going through the lood last year showed our key vul- nerable areas and things we probably wouldn’t have anticipated,” says Dave Bechtel, engineering project manager
for the City of Mandan’s Engineering and Planning Department. He says the city did take action in
2005 to raise the development area of south Mandan out of the loodplain, as well as install levees and pumps. But he says the 2011 lood provided a learning experience about the city’s infrastructure and the possible room for additional improvements. “We’ve talked about strengthening what can still be done with the utilities including the storm sewer,” says Bechtel. “This would include general speciics to improve the initial construction of the infrastructure so it is not impacted if there is another looding incident.” The residential development in south Mandan did slow slightly in those areas aff ected by groundwater during the lood, says Bechtel. “These areas are seeing resurgence in devel- opment and we are also seeing more interest in the north and northwest part of town in terms of construction as well,” he notes. “People are looking for that place that is high-and-dry, and we are seeing an uptick in develop- ment in areas that haven’t previously seen growth.” Bechtel says at this time, the city
isn’t planning additional restrictions on development near the river because of the work done in 2005 to protect the low lying areas, as well as the owner- ship of the land near the river. “We are in a unique situation in that a lot of our
Taking Care of Business
Whether you’ve been in business for years or you’re just starting out, we have a variety of resources for your growing business. Best of all, our decisions are made locally.
land available near the river is owned by a handful of people and they control how it is developed.” “Hopefully this is a once-in-a-life-
time event,” says Schonert. “But we still have some concerns for future looding with what has happened with the nar- rowing of the channel.” He notes city, county and state leaders have learned many lessons from the 2011 lood and they continue to use these when planning for the continued development of the area. “We will continue to focus on stronger communication between the Corps, state oficials and local oficials.” Schonert says a strengthening in communication has already become evident in the decision making that has taken place in the past months. “I want to compliment the Water Commission, Governor, Senators and Congressman and local legislators who have been very helpful and responsive to our concerns.” Hokenstad says the timely develop- ment of plans to provide long-term lood protection, as well as repair lood-related damage, is critical to the future development of the community. “Much of that planning has been com- pleted or is in the process of devel- opment now, but communities have to make sure that strong, protective loodplain regulations are in place if building is to continue in those areas.”
Work continues in and around the Bismarck-Mandan community to clean up and repair from the 2011 lood. Although many of the protec- tive features constructed last spring have been removed, work remains to be done in removing the remaining features.
Cleanup Continues
The City of Mandan is currently in
the process of bidding the removal of the plugs put into place to protect its river bay developments. The city also is bidding out the removal of the Hesco barrier, earth levee, sandbags and rip rap that also remain in place. With low precipitation this winter, oficials don’t believe there is cause for concern regarding looding in 2012, however, proactive planning measures remain important to the preparation for future looding events and the continued develop- ment of the community.
Nominations Needed for the Golden Eagle Award
Nominate a Bismarck-Mandan Cham- ber member business that goes above and beyond to support the military. The Military Aff airs Committee is now accepting nominations for the 2012
Golden Eagle Award. The nomination process is quick and simple. Visit www.
bismarckmandan.com to submit the deserving businesses you know. The nomination deadline is March 16.
Modern Marketing: Vlogging Seminar
We offer:
Stop by the Main Office, visit us online at
www.capcu.org or call Myron at 355-7747 or Melissa at 355-7748 or Kacie at 355-7756.
Does your marketing plan include one of the fastest growing advertis- ing methods? On Thursday, March 22, Joe Sheehan will introduce you to the world of video blogging or “vlogging.” Vogging is an inexpensive and dy- namic medium to reach your market. At the vlogging seminar, you will learn how to operate your vlog, and will leave the session with an active vlog. An additional goal of this seminar is to create a network of vloggers who will support and inspire each other to post regularly. Any industry could support a valu-
able vlog to existing and potential customers. Are you a CPA who could post tax advice? Perhaps you own a hardware store and could have a weekly do-it-yourself video full of tips. The opportunities are endless. The Vlog Seminar is on March 22
from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Chamber. The cost to attend is $99 and includes a pre-built vlog, lunch, and access to a local representative for assistance. Space is limited and registrations will close March 14. Register online at
www.bismarckmandan.com/events or by calling 223-5660.
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