“Oh jeez,” said Ward 3 Alderman John Miller, exasperated, as city officials were informed why work on Warrenton’s new park would be delayed. Officials have learned that the Army Corps of …
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“Oh jeez,” said Ward 3 Alderman John Miller, exasperated, as city officials were informed why work on Warrenton’s new park would be delayed.Officials have learned that the Army Corps of Engineers, which must provide a permit for the project, requires the city to conduct a “cultural resource survey,” Director of Operations Terri Thorn told the Warrenton Board of Aldermen at its March 7 meeting.“Basically this is looking for any historical or archeological findings that would show there’s some concern over developing the area,” Thorn said.The survey involves a crew walking the area at 5-meter intervals, probing for evidence of buried artifacts.The requirement seemed to take city officials by surprise. Last month the board of aldermen approved a $99,750 bid for KCI Construction to do clearing and grading within a 39-acre property west of Warrior Avenue. The work was slated to begin as soon as the city has a permit from the Corps of Engineers, which Thorn previously said was expected to come any day.Now, the city will pay $7,000 for SCI Engineering to conduct the cultural resource survey. Fieldwork will take about two days to complete (depending on weather), but a following report could take as long as three to four weeks, according to a project proposal from SCI. If the survey reveals the presence of relevant artifacts, the process will become more involved.“If they have findings, then there will be a second phase, and so on,” Thorn said. That would come with additional fees.The good news, she added, is that a time limitation for the project has been removed. The city had been pushing to have all tree removal done before April 1 to avoid disturbing a protected species of bat.But the Corps of Engineers has now confirmed the city won’t be held to that time line because no appropriate bat habitat was found during a previous survey in 2016, Thorn said.The cost of that survey was $21,600.The Warrenton Board of Aldermen meets the first and third Tuesday of each month, 7 p.m. at Warrenton City Hall. Meetings are open to the public. The next meeting is March 21.City of Warrenton
