ALTON – Members of the public gathered at Alton City Hall on Thursday night for an open house event on potentially building a permanent flood wall in downtown Alton.
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Early on, attendees seemed to express confusion as it became apparent there would be no formal presentation – nor any opportunity to vocally express comments or concerns.
Instead, poster boards showing various diagrams of the proposed flood wall were put on display in the City Council chambers. Rather than allowing public comments as in a typical city meeting, paper “Public Comment Sheets” were provided for the public to submit written responses.
“This is such a waste of time!” one attendee shouted before nearly storming out, then returning to submit a written comment.
Despite there being no formal presentation, the Alton Riverfront Advisory Commission prepared a slideshow presentation outlining the scope of the flooding problem and proposed solutions. Their presentation, and many more details about the flood wall proposal, are available on the City of Alton website.
Also on display via projector were video renderings showing a three-dimensional concept for the flood wall, which played on repeat. One shows the flood wall during normal conditions, while the other shows the flood wall during flood conditions; both can also be seen on the city’s website.
As previously reported on Riverbender.com, the flood wall would measure approximately 1,050 feet long and up to 5 feet tall. It would run along the north side of Broadway from William Street to Piasa Street.
The estimated cost of the flood wall currently stands at $4.15 million, according to the Alton Riverfront Advisory Commission slideshow. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved a $2.9 million grant to the city for the project, which the city plans to match with $3 million from its TIF1 district.
The currently planned schedule, assuming the project gets City Council approval, calls for an anticipated construction date in October of 2025.
With no presentation or public comments at the flood wall event, further discussion is likely a future Alton Committee of the Whole meeting. Stay tuned to Riverbender.com for the latest updates.
For more on the downtown Alton flood wall proposal, see this related story on Riverbender.com.
