Bellevue Floods! Help stop the flooding on Covert Run Pike

Updates!

Hello Covert Run Pike!

July was an extremely busy month for us. As many of you know, Bellevue City Council hosted a meeting on July 7th at the Callahan Center. Keith Spoelker, Bellevue’s City Administrator, presided over the meeting, as city engineers and representatives from Sanitation District No. 1 presented their proposed plans for fixing our street. Here are some key points from the meeting:

• A budget of $1,041,870 has been approved for the project. (Funds were collected from the City of Bellevue, the State of Kentucky, and the Sanitation District.)
• The allocated funds will pay for a new stormwater sewer that will run down the middle of Covert Run Pike, across Taylor, dumping out into the westernmost portion of Taylor Creek. Said funds will also be used to construct a new street and adjacent sidewalks.
• On 8/20/09, the city will begin to accept bids from area contractors. The bidding period will be open for 21 days. At the end of this time period (projected date: 9/8/09), Council will review the bids and (hopefully) select a team of workers to begin the project. In the unfortunate event that no satisfactory bid is received in that time period, a new bidding period will commence and last for an additional 21 days.
• Once the project details are solidified and work has begun, Council estimates the repairs to take anywhere from nine months to one year to complete. During this time, segments of the street/sidewalks will be unavailable for both foot traffic and parking. Residents are advised to be patient as repairs are completed, and council has tentatively offered assistance in finding alternative parking and accessibility solutions.
• Members of the Sanitation District are prepared to meet individually with residents whose lateral connections require special attention. They remain unsure as to whether outdated/damaged connections will result in fees for each homeowner, but they assured us that the issue will in no way impede the progress of the street repairs.
• A private company, Filterra, has been commissioned to transform our revamped sewage drains into usable green space containing live trees. Details of this experimental project are still being discussed by all parties involved.
• Council, while acknowledging that the creek is still a major souce of the flooding, is unprepared to field questions in that regard. Deepening/widening the creek or installing a retaining wall would reportedly cost upwards of $4 million, and while Council acknowledges that the creek still poses a viable threat, they have expressed their desire to make the street repairs their first priority. The creek is an issue upon which we, as citizens, must remain vigilant as we move forward.

Neighbors, this has been a long, uphill battle that is far from over. This unseasonably rainy summer continues to make it all too clear that we can no longer wait for the City to reach a conclusion. Despite the fact that Council has made unprecented progress in resolving the flooding, a thousand questions still remain. When will the repairs start? How will winter affect the construction progress? Will our property value increase once the job is done? Will our street still flood? I urge you to press your City Council for more details. Email Keith Spoelker at keith.spoelker@bellevueky.org, or call Public Works at (859) 261-0260. State and federal representatives have stated that since our street is owned by the City, they can’t intervene. It is up to us to make sure that the flooding on Covert Run Pike is at the forefront of the agendas of our paid and elected city officials.

Keep looking forward!