OSAWATOMIE — Osawatomie is looking at starting a stormwater utility fee again. The money would be used to help pay for improvements to the city’s storm water system and to certify the city’s levee system. City manager Bret Glendening told the Osawatomie Journal that certification would cost nearly $480,000. The federal government has ordered many cities to certify their levees after several cities’ levees failed in recent years. In 2007, the flooding Pottawatomie Creek went over the top of the city’s levees, causing severe flooding throughout the city. Without the certification, city residents would have to pay flood insurance, which would likely cost more than the proposed monthly fee of $2 for residents and $3 for businesses. Last year, voters turned down a stormwater utility fee.
Thursday, Aug. 5, 9 a.m.
