The City of Crawfordsville is re-applying for federal funding to address high bank erosion of Sugar Creek after not being awarded money this year.
The funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s pre-disaster hazard mitigation programs would be used to buy out houses deemed most at-risk from the receding banks on the city’s west side.
A 2019 engineer’s report identified seven houses that sit on North Sugar Cliff Drive and Wayne Avenue in highest danger. The report from Indianapolis-based Christopher B. Burke Engineering said that houses at risk of being lost would need to be removed if a project is undertaken to stabilize the banks.
On Wednesday, the Crawfordsville Board of Public Works and Safety signed an agreement with Burke to submit the city’s grant request. If approved, funding would be awarded next year.
The erosion is being driven by large amounts of dense till, sands and gravel moving through the creek amid a rise in rainfall rates, more frequent flooding and higher levels of runoff, say experts who’ve studied the watershed.
In other business, the board approved:
• The transfer of $239,196 in local road funds to pay contractor Rieth Riley for the city’s share of the cost of paving projects funded by the state’s Community Crossings program.
• A change order in Rieth Riley’s Community Crossings contract in the amount of $7,130 for additional paving.
• A construction agreement with Price Excavating in the amount of $332,942 for the Big Four Arch sewage project.