By David Tyler
The Town of DeWitt will acquire a small plot of land on Twin Oaks Drive adjacent to Ley Creek that may be used to help with a flood mitigation plan in the north side of town.
The land will be donated to the town by Cambridge Capital Corp. which has owned the vacant parcel since 1997. It is assessed at $85,000.
“We need locations at which we can store water,” Supervisor Ed Michalenko said. “This could be one of those locations.”
The town is working to identify about 15 sites in the Ley Creek watershed to expand and naturalize the creek. Collectively, these sites could help reduce flooding throughout that watershed, including the around the industrial zone near Route 298 and in the Franklin Park neighborhood east of Carrier Circle.
“None of these sites…unto themselves, are a silver bullet,” Michalenko said.
Michalenko said the creek wall could be pulled back to create a small flood plain that would store storm water runoff.
Safety enhancements considered
DeWitt is also working on a plan to make some physical enhancements to DeWitt Town Hall in order to provide a safer environment for town employees and the public.
The town will request quotes for some internal glass doors and the installation of glass panes around the service counters in town hall to help reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection.
Town hall will remain closed to the public for the foreseeable future, but the town is beginning the process of planning for reopening.
“A lot of this is going to depend on the guidance we get from the state,” Michalenko said. “We need to look at what it’s going to take to protect our workforce.”
The next meeting of the town board will take place on May 25, Memorial Day, at 9 a.m. via Zoom. After a brief discussion about whether to move the meeting to another day, it was decided that because most Memorial Day celebrations have been canceled, the board would keep the meeting at its regularly scheduled date and time.
