(8/8) The Emmitsburg Town Council approved a contract to develop a plan to enhance North Seton Ave. with trees and plantings, create safer road conditions, and help relieve flooding at the Northgate subdivision.

The $19,825.00 contract was awarded to Fox & Associates, of Frederick, to produce what is being called the Green Street Concept Plan. $17,538 will be paid by the Chesapeake Bay Trust Green Streets, Green Jobs, & Green Town's grant, while $2,287 will be paid by the town.

Mayor Don Briggs said: “The project, by using natural, beautification elements in a manner that not only enhances safety. but also, the setting we live in and our quality of life, is a big win for the community. and it will be done primarily through grant funds.”

Town Planner Zach Gulden said the creation of the conceptual plan is a first step towards developing “green infrastructure enhancements” along North Seton Ave., from North Ave. to Provincial Parkway (approximately 1,600 linear feet).

Among the enhancements that will ultimately be achieved include: replacing 50-year-old water lines located underneath impervious swales; replacing the impervious swales with rain gardens, bio-retention cells, and/or bio swales to prevent roadway and property flooding; and planting street trees and native vegetation.

Regarding the long-existing flooding issues, Gulden stated that the stormwater flows down North Seton Ave.’s asphalt swales directly into Flat Run, which causes erosion of the stream banks, and frequent flooding that entraps the residents of Northgate residential development. The enhancement proposed will help alleviate the flooding problems.

The overall project will also help the municipality meet its requirements under the state MS4 program, which requires communities to reduce stormwater runoff. “We can use this project as future MS4 credits for our federally and state-mandated stormwater management permit,” the planner said.

The total price-tag of the project cannot be determined until the Green Street Concept Plan itself is finished. The planner said once the plan is developed by the contractor, town staff will hold a public outreach meeting to gain feedback, and then adjust the plans based on the feedback received.

As far as the project's timeframes, Gulden stated that, in 2021 or 2022, he intends to apply for grant funds in order to hire an engineering firm to create the engineering design of the conceptual plan. “I will then apply for a construction-implementation grant a year in advance before we are ready to replace the water lines.”