Grace Kirchner, Leader Correspondent
Walker Forge and Converting Incorporated, industries located on Spring Street in the Clintonville Industrial Park, are experiencing major water problems.
There has been a lot of development in the area and some of the areas that once stored water have been filled in with concrete.
The parking lot is flooded at Converting. The storm sewer is not large enough to handle the water coming out of the drainage basin.
According to City Administrator Chuck Kell, it could cost $100,000 to install a larger sewer at Walker. Kell said that he and the public works department looked at putting in a larger culvert at state Highway 156 but decided that would not solve the problem.
Kell told the Common Council last week there were no tax incremental financing district funds available for the project and that the problem needs to be addressed because both companies have more expansion planned for the future.
“We will have to look for a source of dollars and ask for assistance,” Kell said. “This is a big problem. We need to find out what is going to happen in this watershed.”
Kell also said he was working with a potential developer and found the city did not have an updated zoning map. They found more than 40 changes to boundaries and zoning that had not been updated. Some of the properties in the industrial park have not been rezoned, which could become problematic if not corrected.