$4.3M Cicero Creek reconstruction project to launch this year

Jun. 18—TIPTON — A $4.3 million project to stop erosion and reduce flooding along Cicero Creek in Tipton is set to start later this year after more than 10 years of delays, lawsuits and pushback from some residents.

Tipton County Surveyor Jason Henderson said the project is scheduled to begin in August on nearly 3 miles of the creek that run through the city to stabilize the banks and increase its water capacity.

That includes excavating the bank to create floodway shelves that will allow people to access the waterway, opening up more recreational activities along it. Henderson said it's nearly impossible to reach the creek due to the erosion that, in some places, has created 8-foot sheer drops.

The project will also place large rocks in the river to create J-hooks, which will slow and deepen parts of the creek to help fish and other aquatic animals, and install large stones in some areas of the bank to stop erosion.

A new pedestrian bridge over the river will also be installed just east of the city's pool and west of the basketball court near Tipton City Park. Henderson said the city is pitching in funding on the bridge replacement.

"The city is going to kick in some money to make it wider and more decorative, so you could probably drive a golf cart across it," he said.

Talk of building floodway shelves to stop erosion started as far back as 2007. Henderson said engineers came up with 20 different proposals for the project, but the Big Cicero Creek Joint Drainage Board in 2010 voted against moving forward with any of them to avoid raising taxes on residents living in the creek's watershed.

In 2013, the board voted to increase the maintenance fee that property owners pay for the upkeep of the creek from $12 to $50 to fund the reconstruction project. Henderson said that increased the annual income of the maintenance fund from $136,000 to $600,000.

That move drew fierce pushback from some, who argued the board wasn't allowed to use money in the maintenance fund to pay for a loan to fund the reconstruction project.

The group ended up suing the board, but the Indiana Court of Appeals in 2019 ruled state code allowed the board to use the maintenance money on the project.

Henderson said through all that time, the maintenance fund continued to grow, and today it has around $2.5 million that can go toward the project. He said the board has also secured $2 million in financing from a local bank, but the hope is they won't need to use it if bids on the project come in low.

If the board does need the loan, he said, it would be paid off in four years.

Henderson said the Hamilton County surveyor's office has also volunteered to look into potential grant funding or using money from the American Rescue Plan to help pay for the project.

"Everybody is trying to make sure costs will stay as low as possible," Henderson said.

The board on Wednesday is set to vote on issuing bids, and it would accept one of those bids in August. The project is expected to start soon after that.

Henderson said once reconstruction is complete, the city and county aim to turn the creek into an amenity for residents. That includes installing walking paths along it and putting in canoe launch pads.

"They're really starting to look at all these options," he said. "It's exciting, and I'm excited about it all."

In the end, Henderson said, the project will help reduce flooding throughout the city, keep the river from eroding and provide better access to the city's main waterway.

"It's a pretty big public works project," he said. "This project is going to benefit a lot of people. There are a lot of people in Tipton who are right along that creek and a lot of people who use it in the park."

Carson Gerber can be reached at 765-854-6739, carson.gerber@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter @carsongerber1.