A tentative agreement between City of Delaware and a developer means the city would no longer have to pay for dirt from a previous construction project.
Delaware City Council approved budgeting funds this week for a settlement agreement with Medrock LLC. The new agreement would require the City of Delaware to pay the developer $400,000 to resolve issues from a contract agreed upon in 2005, and subsequent addendums and agreements through 2010.
“We are awaiting signatures from Medrock,” said city spokesman Lee Yoakum in an email on Thursday.
Under the original agreements, the city purchased land from Medrock for the construction of the Delaware Community Center YMCA and the connected Veterans Park. It was agreed upon that a future Medrock development could have water transferred to the pond.
Medrock and the city both wanted the dirt dug out for the pond, said City Attorney Darren Shulman at the council meeting.
The city needed the dirt for the center’s construction, while Medrock didn’t need it at the time. The city then agreed to reimburse Medrock if it had to purchase dirt that could have come from the purchased land.
But the location of the pond moved from its originally planned spot where the soccer fields are now located, Shulman said. The new spot impacted Medrock’s ability to transfer water to the pond and to hold as much water as originally planned, he said.
The draft agreement states: “The City’s participation in this settlement does not indicate any flaw in the City’s design and construction of the existing storm water retention basin that was constructed for the purpose of meeting the storm water management requirements associated with the development of the Delaware Community Center YMCA/Veterans Park development.”
Provisions of the new settlement agreement include:
• Medrock will develop its own retention pond on its property. About 91 percent of runoff water will be directed to this pond with about 9 percent directed to the existing pond at the community center.
• The city will pay $165,000 from the storm water fund upon completion of the agreement. The remaining balance, with funds appropriated from the recreation income tax fund approved by voters in 2008, will be paid upon completion of the storm sewer lines. They would connect the existing and proposed ponds and the existing sewer collection system.
• Medrock will begin design work for the project following the agreement’s completion with construction completed within 18 months of the design’s approval.
• The city will no longer be obligated to reimburse Medrock for the dirt.
In addition, the two parties agreed for Medrock to make adjustments to its Willowbrook Farm Tract planned unit development approved in 1999. The PUD currently has a maximum of 155 dwelling units in one area and 140 units in another section of the development. Medrock would like to decrease the number of units in one area but increase in another area with adjustments to the unit types.
The proposal will be pursued through the city’s planning and development process, according to the draft agreement.
