By Juliana A. Torres
For the News-Gazette

Kissimmee commissioners June 15 approved three projects designed to fix problems in the city's stormwater system, which became apparent in the flash flooding on July 11 of last year.

The first project addresses the water that rose several inches over the road and into houses along North Forest, Lavon and Palm avenues, between Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and Oak Street, despite the fact that the area is out of the floodplain. A study completed in March concluded that the storm sewer system there lacked the capacity to handle large storm events like the one that occurred last year.

Hanson, Walter and Associates was awarded a $58,357 work order to design and secure permits for better culverts and inlets to improve the flow of water from the area into the West City Canal, as recommended in the company's investigative study. Funds for the designs come from money left over in the third phase of construction on Thacker Avenue, soon to be completed.

Two other companies were awarded bids to restore and improve city ditches damaged in the July flash flooding and earlier rains associated with a tropical depression last year. Underwater Engineering of Ft. Pierce won a bid for $1.2 million to repair the Airport Ditch west of Osceola Park Estates as well as the West City Ditch from Oak Street to south of Mabbette Street. CKA of St. Cloud was awarded a $832,918 bid through local vendor preference policy to work on East City Ditch and Mill Slough at U.S. Highway 192.

Amateur ball field plans dropped

Developers gave up pursuing plans for a controversial 150-acre amateur ball field complex within the currently empty property between Carroll Street, Thacker Avenue, Dyer Boulevard and east of Shingle Creek. A change in land use for the development of regional impact passed at the June 15 Kissimmee Commission meeting without provisions for the proposed complex.

Commissioners had questioned whether ball fields should be built in a residential area, on land they had previously approved for mostly retirement and single-family homes. Developers, looking for alternatives to the plans they had made before the housing market crash, appealed for the change in anticipation of selling 150 acres of the land to Perfect Game USA for 24 baseball fields designed for national amateur tournaments. After first denying it, commissioners allowed the land use request be sent to state reviewing agencies for approval, with the stipulation that the developers submit a concept plan for the recreational complex for them to consider before giving their final approval.

City staff said they weren't sure exactly why the developers stopped pursuing the idea. By April, state reviewing agencies had reviewed the proposal and submitted several concerns back to the city. In response, the developers simply removed the 150 acres of recreational land use from the plans.

“I think the client decided to go in a different direction,” attorney and representative of the developers Michael Grindstaff said. “We needed to move on.”

The development of regional impact is now zoned for mixed land use.