Scaled-back drainage project awarded

Move means Rice detention basin begins sooner

Lessons learned by Mentor city leaders during one big drainage project are enabling a second to get underway sooner rather than later.

So said officials at this week’s City Council meeting, when the Rice Detention Basin project was awarded. The 5-foot-deep basin will be built on about 2 acres south of the former Dale R. Rice Elementary School, between Chase Drive and Brooks Boulevard.

“The project will reduce flooding levels downstream of the basin by up to 1 foot for the

majority of severe rain events,” Mentor Engineer Dave Swiger said, adding that it equates to about a 15 percent reduction in stormwater flow. “It will also reduce peak flows in the stormsewer system, allowing the system to perform better in heavy rain events. This will help roads and nearby properties drain better.”

The project was split into two phases in order to move ahead now. It initially was slated for next year, but got an unanticipated boost from Ohio Public Works Commission funding, awarded in July.

Work is expected to start next month, with excavation of the basin complete by the end of this year and final restoration taking place in the spring. The scheduled completion date is June 28.

“The second phase will be a little trickier because it does impact some known wetlands,” City Manager Ken Filipiak said, alluding to the lengthy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permitting process encountered with the Two Town Ditch stormwater management project.

Swiger said the hope is to expand the Rice basin by about 30 percent.

“It (would) result in about a 30 percent reduction in total (flow) and up to close to a 2-foot reduction in downstream flooding,” he said. “We will most likely not be able to take advantage of the entire parcel, which we had originally hoped to, which is where we thought we could detain up to a 50-year storm event. But that’s probably a little bit beyond our reach with current regulations.”

Ward 3 Councilman Bruce Landeg said the permitting process might have delayed the Rice basin another three years, if the city sought to do the entire project at once.

“I commend the administration and the planners who split this up,” he said. “We won’t know how many houses will not flood because we’re doing this now with the additional help of the OPWC.”

The city will receive a $100,000 grant and $150,000 loan from the commission – about 40 percent of the cost.

Filipiak said such funding will be sought for Phase 2 as well.

Ten companies bid on the basin, with bids ranging from $394,800 to $718,708. The low bidder was JTO, Inc. of Mentor.

“The city was very fortunate to be able to acquire this property in such a strategic location for stormwater management,” Swiger said.

The school, at 7640 Lake Shore Blvd., was closed at the end of the 2014-15 school year because of declining enrollment and building usage rates.

The city purchased about 18 acres for the basin in 2016 for $234,000. The project has been on the city’s radar for more than 20 years.

The project was split into two phases in order to move ahead now. It initially was slated for next year, but got an unanticipated boost from Ohio Public Works Commission funding, awarded in July