10/27/26 City Commission Work Session

The City of Manhattan, Kansas Commission held a work session on October 27, 2026, with updates on floodplain management and stormwater projects. Staff reported ongoing work on the Garden Grove buyout, the second phase of the levee project—which requires continued railroad negotiations—and downtown drainage improvements. The city selected Benesch through a spring request for qualifications for the Campus Creek study, and commissioners had previously approved engineering contracts for that study and the Carney Street storm collector study; no new stormwater contract or spending action was taken at this session. Staff estimated stormwater personnel costs at roughly $800,000 to $1 million, within about $4 million in stormwater-fund revenue. The city also uses fees in lieu of on-site detention to help fund major downtown conveyance projects. Staff described current maintenance practices, including that most stream channels and privately owned detention facilities remain the responsibility of property owners or homeowners associations.

The Commission also discussed Habitat for Humanity’s request for $150,000 from the workforce housing sales tax for work at 3115 Dickens Avenue: reimbursement of property acquisition costs and $50,000 toward a sanitary sewer extension. Habitat said the project would create two income-restricted homes under a community land trust model, with a 99-year ground lease and a resale formula intended to preserve affordability. Commissioners raised questions about the land-lease terms, financing and homeowners’ ability to borrow against equity, maintenance, and the sewer subsidy. Several expressed support for moving forward, while requesting further documentation, including a prototype land lease and equity-financing provisions. No vote or final funding approval was taken.