ELLSWORTH — The Ellsworth Village Board tabled a proposed floodplain study in the East End Industrial Park, with board trustees citing too broad of a cost estimate and a lack of information. The item is expected to return at the next meeting.

The Village owns 17 acres of land in the East End Industrial Park off of County Road C, much of which is in a designated floodplain.

“This is an unstudied area of the floodplain, so basically, it is all considered non-developable,” Village Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer Brad Roy said. “It could decrease the size of the floodplain, it could also increase the size of the floodplain, we don’t know that.”

Roy said no development can be added when the floodplain is unstudied; however, portions of the land can be found as fringe floodplain in the study, meaning with certain steps the land can be developed. Roy said he is “very confident” some of the land would be designated flood fringe that currently cannot be used.

He also mentioned two businesses have already shown interest in the land, but talks stalled out due to the floodplain hurdle.

Roy said the Village Engineer gave a rough estimate of $5,000-15,000 for the study plus another $5,000 to submit to FEMA. Roy said to be safe, he would ask the board to authorize $20,000 if they wanted to go through with things, and two acres of additional land sold would break them even.

“If we do this study and we find out that, yep, this area that’s defined as the floodplain, can’t build on it, are developers still going to want to purchase that property knowing that it is a floodplain,” Trustee Ryan Bench said.

Trustees Tony Hines and Andrew Borner asked that the item be tabled for a month to get a closer cost estimate and further information on the study and what information the village would receive upon its completion. The motion to table was unanimously approved.

Kwik Trip

As part of the consent agenda, the board approved a CSM and Site Plan for the proposed Kwik Trip. The 11,033 square-foot building will be off of Highway 65 at the corner West Overlook Drive and Lucas Lane.

Other business

• After being granted a premise extension for a Fiesta Rosita patio during previous annual renewals, the board approved a 3.5 foot fence rather than the six feet required by the ordinance for better line of sight with cars driving through. Board members asked the ordinance to be brought back next month to potentially reduce the required height for patio fencing.
• Alexander Avenue is set to be extended for the Gerrard Corporation apartment development in Crossing Meadows. Gerrard will pay the costs to construct the 150-foot extension, which will then be dedicated to the city to own and maintain.
• Approved a payment of $352,954.69 for the Grant and Piety Street projects.