A tally Monday of how Oakport Township residents feel about possibly having to pay for temporary dikes revealed support was not sufficient to proceed with any of three levees being proposed.
After reviewing the number of special assessment agreements that have been signed by residents, the township board voted Monday night to extend by one week efforts to sign up more residents.
Township officials are hoping to build three temporary dikes prior to a flood, but they have said they will not proceed with a project in a given area unless 90 percent of homeowners in the neighborhood agree to share in the cost of their project.
Numbers provided at Monday's meeting of the township board indicated that two areas - those that would be protected by a West Side Dike and an East Side Dike - were both about 1 percent short of the necessary 90 percent approval level, or about two homes in each neighborhood.
A proposal to build a South Side Dike had an approval rate of approximately 80 percent, or about 13 homes short of getting a project approved.
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Township officials are hopeful the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will agree to build the temporary levees, but officials said Monday that an answer from the corps on that question isn't expected until the end of the week.
If the corps agrees to build the levees, homeowners would be responsible for cleanup costs but not the cost of constructing a levee.
If the corps does not build the dikes, property owners would be responsible for any construction or cleanup costs not reimbursable by the state or federal governments.
Township residents filled the Oakport Town Hall on Monday, and many of them had questions about the levee plans.
One man told the board he has been harassed for not giving his approval to the dike plan in his neighborhood.
Others spoke in support of the levees, stating that they would greatly enhance the community's ability to battle a major flood this spring.
Roger Haglund and his wife, Margaret, who have lived in their rural Oakport home since 1971, said before the meeting that they strongly favor the building of a temporary levee in their neighborhood, adding that whatever the cost may be, it would be worth it.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Dave Olson at (701) 241-5555
