Republic file photo Columbus City Hall is shown in downtown Columbus.
City officials Tuesday approved an updated on-call services agreement with an Indianapolis-based engineering firm which helps the city regulate the floodplain along Haw Creek.
The Columbus Board of Public Works and Safety approved an agreement with Christopher B. Burke Engineering to provide engineering services related to any potential developments near the Haw Creek Floodplain, which the firm has done since 2011. Burke will also continue updating the modeling and mapping of the floodplain, according to city documents.
Review of proposed developments in the Haw Creek floodplain is required by the zoning ordinance.
Following the flood of 2008, city officials determined the floodplain along Haw Creek was not very well-mapped by FEMA, Planning Director Jeff Bergman told board members. So the city created their own floodplain maps after enlisting Burke for use of their systems to better represent flood hazards in the area.
“And since then, we’ve kept Burke on retainer to advise as different developments take place in that corridor as to impacts on the floodplain,” Bergman said, adding that that happens maybe two or three times a year, costing anywhere between a few hundred dollars to a thousand dollars each time.
The updated agreement includes a bump in rates and clarifies some process-related items, Bergman said.
For example, if a potential developer is interested in building a new subdivision in the mapped floodplain and wants to better understand the impacts to the floodplain and surrounding area as a result, the city would lean on Burke to see if any additional investigation is required.
If a given development does need a closer look, the developer would be responsible for paying Burke for those additional services.
“Through this contract, Burke’s available to just consult on a regular basis if we have questions,” Bergman said. “More specifically, we’re using them to do a technical look at any construction that’s proposed in that floodplain area.”
