BROOKINGS – The Brookings City Council approved applying for a grant to find out what can be done about the frequent flooding in the Six Mile Creek area.

“The northwestern portion of the City of Brookings along Six Mile Creek is within Zone A of the FEMA 100-year Flood Zone. There have been numerous discussions regarding the flooding along the flood zone and possible project options that could improve the flooding in the city,” according to a memo by City Engineer Jackie Lanning, attached to Tuesday’s meeting agenda.

Staff have been talking with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) about grant funding, Lanning said.

The Hazard Mitigation Grant would pay for a feasibility study for flood remediation options on Six Mile Creek, she said. 

The city hired RESPEC, engineering consultants, to assist with a grant application. The feasibility study would cost approximately $100,000 and the grant request is for 75% of the project cost. The city’s share of the project would be approximately $25,000, Lanning said.

“I think this is great,” said Mayor Keith Corbett and thanked John Mills for an informative map of the Six Mile Creek area. 

Disaster planning

The council on Tuesday also approved the Brookings County Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan, as presented by Director of Emergency Management Services Bob Hill.

“This pre-disaster mitigation plan categorizes the risk and implication of possible natural disasters a community may face,” according to a memo by City Manager Paul Briseno attached to the agenda. 

The memo added the document was not an emergency management response plan. 

“It is a strategic tool to assist in the mitigation of future disasters. The details of this document can assist in generating and updating the tactical measures of the Emergency Response Plan,” according to the memo.

Relinquish certificate

The council approved relinquishing the 14 C.F.R. Part 139 Certificate for the Brookings Regional Airport.

City Engineer Jackie Lanning said Brookings would be eligible to be certified again in the future.

“This certificate allows the airport to serve scheduled and unscheduled large aircraft with more than 30 seats, as well as small air carriers with more than 9 seats but less than 31 seats. The city has retained the certificate since 2007, when the city lost scheduled commercial air service,” according to a memo by Lanning attached to the agenda.

The certificate requires the city to meet numerous Federal Aviation Administration regulations, including inspections. The Brookings Regional Airport has done well with the inspections, Lanning said, but after the last one – which was April 18 – the FAA recommended changes that would require $28,000 worth of improvements to stay in compliance with the certificate.

City staff checked with the Bismarck Airport District Office and the SDDOT Aeronautics staff, as well as South Dakota State University and Matt Maher, senior associate administrator, about use of aircraft with more than 31 passengers for athletic events.

“He indicated they did not see a need for larger aircraft at this time and not likely in the near future. He said if they have more than 31 passengers for an event, they use commercial airlines rather than get a larger aircraft for the few extra passengers,” according to the memo. 

Lanning listed many pros to relinquishing the certificate in her three-page memo and recommended relinquishing the certificate.

Contact Jodelle Greiner at jgreiner@brookingsregister.com.