A Plymouth business is asking the Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety to help pay for the replacement of a culvert with proceeds from the sale of a portion of the property.
The request comes from Dave Miller from Vanco Development, a family-owned real estate development company on Pioneer Drive. Miller reminded the board members that the company agreed to split the net proceeds in land sales with the city. The agreement allows the city to support the infrastructure serving the tech farm along with adjacent development. The city would receive the net proceeds through a monetary gift fund. The funds would be used to benefit the future businesses on the land there.
FEMA has since found that the area is in a new flood zone. With this designation, the company has spent thousands of dollars to conduct required engineering studies to prove the designation. The studies found that a culvert needs to be replaced under Pioneer Drive between U.S. 30 and Miller Drive to alleviate any potential flooding issues. A bigger pipe will need to be installed. The project is expected to cost about $100,000.
A downstream study also needs to be done at the cost not to exceed $34,000.
The state and Marshall County Drainage Board have approved the culvert replacement project and so has the City of Plymouth Redevelopment Commission, but no entity has come forward with funding options.
As a result, Miller is requesting the use of the city’s portion of proceeds in a recent sale of land. The city’s half would be $110,874. Miller is requesting that this money be used to pay for the downstream study and culvert replacement.
The Board of Works members voted to take the request under advisement and a decision could be made at the next meeting.
