Council approves engineering work for Huntington/Kotowski reconstruction; neighbors press stormwater, pump solutions

The Waterloo City Council adopted a professional-services agreement and accepted construction plans connected to the Kotowski Drive and Huntington Road reconstruction project and the San Martin Business Park first-edition phase 2, and authorized emergency building-inspection work on a separate collapsed-wall building.
The council considered three related items: (1) a professional service agreement with AECOM for emergency building inspection of 325 West Park Avenue after a partial southeast wall collapse; (2) approval of construction plans for grading, paving and utilities serving the San Martin Business Park phase 2; and (3) supplemental professional services (not-to-exceed $541,131) in support of the FY2026 Kotowski Drive and Huntington Road reconstruction contract.
Public commenters and several council members pressed staff on stormwater runoff impacts from school construction and roundabout work near Huntington and Kotowski, asking who will pay and whether the city’s storm system can handle the additional runoff. Resident Forest Dillavoe warned: “You are going to drown those people in that area. It's one of the wettest areas in the whole city of Waterloo.”
Jamie Knudson, city engineer, said the Waterloo School District had agreed to pay roughly 60% of certain reconstruction costs for the school-related work and that the city’s portion would come from local option funds. Knudson said the design work under the professional-services agreements will analyze stormwater and detention needs. He said the school is constructing detention basins designed to meet city ordinance standards that detain runoff in events between the 5-year and 100-year storms. Knudson added that when Blackhawk Creek is in flood stage, the city closes a gate at the levee and then deploys portable, gas-powered pumps to move water over the levee to the wet side.
Councilmember Charles and others asked whether the city should invest in a permanent lift station rather than repeatedly deploying portable pumps. Knudson said a permanent lift station would cost at least about $500,000 for equipment alone and that the street department often finds it more cost-effective to deploy portable pumps a few times a year rather than buy and maintain a permanent pump for limited use. Councilmembers expressed differing views on that cost–benefit trade-off and asked for clearer, final design-based cost allocations for school and city shares before large supplemental agreements return for final approval.
The council record shows motions and roll-call votes for these items; named members recorded yes votes on the construction-plan items and on the emergency inspection agreement. Council discussion emphasized that design-level work will confirm final cost splits and the extent of stormwater improvements needed to avoid overwhelming downstream neighborhoods.