Where should the water go?

Residents in the Roundwind Road neighborhood are mostly against proposed residential development in the green space east of the pool and fitness center.
They made their opinions clear at a public hearing July 13 about rezoning the space from commercial to residential use: They oppose any development of any kind in that space.
However, city leaders have made it clear that the public space is under consideration for residential development to alleviate housing shortages in Luverne.
At the July 13 hearing Roundwind residents offered several stipulations they hoped the city would consider if building goes forward:
1. Keep as many trees as possible,
2. Preserve as much green space as possible
3. Limit the number of units that are built and
4. Consider the development’s effect on storm water drainage.
Addressing No. 4 on the list, the city authorized an engineer’s study of drainage issues and discovered the neighborhood has existing drainage issues that would need to be addressed with or without development.
“I don’t know why this hasn’t come to the council sooner,” Mayor Pat Baustian said at a Monday night meeting about the drainage study.
“If I were a resident on Fireleaf Road, I would have been to the council sooner.”
At Monday’s meeting, DGR Engineer Gary Kurth presented findings of his drainage study, which essentially concurred with residents’ concerns.
Kurth said existing intake drains are too small and plug easily with debris, there aren’t enough storm water drains and the streets were poorly designed (they’re flat, so water tends to pool).
About a dozen people attended Monday’s meeting and attested to flooding issues.
Some said they try to clear clogged drains in heavy rains, others said water often spills over their lawns and it sometimes remains pooled for days at intersections, creating “mosquito havens.”
Kurth was in Luverne on Aug. 13 when 3 inches of rain fell in a short period of time.
He photographed Roundwind Road and overflowing onto lawns pooling on the east end as the cul-de-sacs drained toward Roundwind Road.
He said the current green space by the pool has a detention area for floodwater to pool and release slowly, but it needs to be able to store more water — especially if there’s more development.
Any drainage from residential building in the green space would be directed to intakes that would outlet into a detention basin — not to the street.
He said current drainage problems could largely be addressed by a few well-placed “open throat” intake drains.
They’re 8 feet wide and 6 inches high with no grids to catch debris. Current drains are 2 feet wide and 4 or 5 inches tall.
Also, he recommended expanding the capacity of the water storage.
“These improvements will divert runoff from the east side of Roundwind Road into the detention basin and reduce the ponding on the street,” Kurth said.
Baustian said Monday that he’ll recommend the council address the drainage issues — whether or not a residential development comes to the neighborhood.
Some residents feared they’d be assessed for the work, but Baustian assured them they wouldn’t. “We have a storm water fund to take care of it,” he said.
Although Monday’s meeting was about storm water drainage, some residents reiterated their opposition to proposed residential building in their neighborhood.
“We don’t want anybody building out there,” Ben Steensma said. “Is this project a done deal? Do we have any say in it at all?”
Baustian said those concerns were voiced at the July 13 public hearing. “We heard you loud and clear; that’s why we did this study.”
Kenny Scheidt, who has been a vocal opponent of the development, questioned the integrity of the engineering study.
“I can tell you how the study is going to turn out,” he said at the start of the meeting.
Baustian countered, “Mr. Scheidt, are you an engineer?”
“No, I am not.”
“Then let’s listen to the results of the study.”
The matter will come to a future City Council meeting to establish a timetable and cost estimates.