Flooding on Manchester Road Discussed by Brentwood Committee

On Tuesday, the Brentwood Redevelopment Corporation discussed options for advancing development on Manchester Road between Brentwood Boulevard and Hanley Road.

Much of the area lies in a floodplain, which has led some buildings to be vacated. In September 2008, Deer Creek flooded and forced dozens of residents out of the Executive Walk apartments, KSDK Newschannel 5 reported.

The city so far has been unsuccessful in its efforts to get federal funding to buy out some of the property, located at 8703 Brentshire Walk, Rottjakob said.

The Board of Aldermen expressed support for an effort to get federal funds in a November 2010 resolution, meeting minutes state. At the time, the demolition of the buildings and preparatory work needed to convert the area into a greenspace was expected to cost just under $2.1 million. The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) had agreed to provide funding of $500,000 toward the project in the event that federal funds were granted.

Now, Executive Walk owner Phillip Barron is contemplating whether to donate the properties to the city, Rottjakob said. In the event that a donation is made, MSD appears willing to still provide resources that would be used to remove the buildings from the floodplain.

She and Gepper also have met with a number of developers and MoDOT to gather information in support of future planning and redevelopment opportunities.

"It was a good process," Rottjakob said. Ongoing meetings with MoDOT are planned, and the transportation authority's new area manager for West County seems proactive and optimistic, and has experience doing phased roadway projects in South County.

"We were very warmly received by the developers we met with, but I think the bottom line at this point is the economic environment that we operate in is not so much that people are doing development," Geppert said. Almost all of them said the flooding is a problem.

Other possibilities include:

• changing and enforcing city code on signs

• researching whether it would be feasible to sell stormwater retention credits

• buying properties that border the floodplain

• conducting an engineering study to see what city can do on its own to ease the flooding

• creating a line item in the yearly budget dedicated to Manchester Road projects

• putting to a vote a tax levy that would fund work in the corridor

The group agreed to make contacts with its engineering partners to see if there are steps Brentwood can begin taking to alleviate flooding. If options exist, the group will then gather more information about the scope and cost of possible projects. Members also indicated a desire to meet with MSD representatives, who they said could provide valuable assistance in preparing proposals for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Members anticipate receiving feedback from those conversations in January.

OTHER ACTION

• The group adopted revised bylaws, primarily to allow notification about meetings to be made electronically.

• The group re-elected Geppert as its president, Dan Glowski as its vice president and Shelly Williams as its assistant secretary. It also named City Administrator Bola Akande its secretary and treasurer and Rottjakob its executive director.