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CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) City officials have asked the North Dakota Water Commission for million dollars to help the city pay for buyouts and the construction of permanent flood protection structures.

Valley City commissioner Matt Pedersen in the background KLJ engineer Chad Petersen address the audience.
Valley City commissioner Matt Pedersen in the background KLJ engineer Chad Petersen.

City commissioner Matt Pedersen says the total cost for all phases of the project may approach $75 million or more if the city continues to secure the funding through the state water commission. But he says more public meetings will be held to receive input from Valley City residents to see what direction the city should pursue.

One Valley City man questioned whether city residents could afford paying the 25 percent cost share of a $75 million dollar project for a city of this size. 

Some people favor the buyout process to widen the river channel in Valley City while others are concerned about the city losing its tax base with buyouts.

Valley City resident Gary Schlagel.
Valley City resident Gary Schlagel.

Valley City resident Gary Schlagel expressed frustration over the city’s lack of direction for buyout residents who can’t afford to rebuild in the city.

Valley City resident Rich Schueneman says the city could look into setting up an affordable development area for buyout owners to rebuild instead of losing those city residents.

The discussion focused on the best possible options for flood protection structures like permanent walls, removable walls, dikes, buyouts, erosion reduction methods and the construction of a flood Greenway.

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City Administrator David Schelkoph says any Greenway construction would be funded entirely through grants.

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The first phase of the permanent flood protection project will start in the Valley City State University area with an estimated cost of $8 to $10 million dollars. The city will schedule more permanent flood protection meetings in the future.

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