Water District 54 commissioners and staff met last week with Des Moines Council and staff to discuss some much needed upgrades to the water infrastructure in downtown Des Moines.

The meeting ended with staff from the water district and the city being directed to work on an agreement to manage and fund what will be a nearly $2 million project.

Inadequate water pressure to meet the required level for fire suppression has hampered the development of downtown Des Moines.

Grant Fredericks, the Des Moines public works planning and building director, said any buildings built downtown would have to be either concrete and metal, or the developer would have to pay to upgrade the water pipes their building would tie into so there was adequate water pressure in case of a fire.

One developer has told the city the building restrictions were prohibitively expensive, ultimately resulting in them not building downtown, Fredericks said. He added the city has heard indirectly other developers citing the same problem.

The project being looked at would put a 10-inch water main along Marine View Drive from South 219th Street to South 227th Street.

There would also be a 10-inch pipe at every intersection running east to west from 8th Avenue to 7th Avenue that would tie into the water main on Marine View Drive.

To install a water main all the way down along Marine View Drive, as well as the connections at each intersection is approximately a $2 million project. With matching funds from a federal grant there is $930,000 available to put toward the project.

The issue then became whether a project would be looked at using just they money available, or if money would be borrowed, and if so who would borrow the money.

Just putting a water main down Marine View Drive without the connections at the intersections would cost approximately $1.1 million. Councilman Scott Thomasson said he would rather borrow $200,000 than $1 million.

"It is a goal of the city to have the downtown thrive, but at what cost?" Thomasson asked.

Mayor Pro-Tem Dave Kaplan said he looks at this project as an investment.

"I am concerned about the downtown becoming more cohesive, and I feel to do that this upgrade is necessary," Kaplan said.

Mayor Bob Sheckler said he felt very strongly the construction should be a one-time thing, trying to disrupt the businesses along Marine View Drive as little as possible.

The hardship 1st Avenue construction is having on already struggling businesses in the Normandy Park Towne Center was brought up by lawmakers as something they wanted to avoid.

Water District Commissioner John Rayback said he was reluctant for the district to go into more debt. Adding loans to improve fire flow are not a priority with the companies they can get bonds from, and it is likely they would not be able to get a loan if they tried.

Des Moines council members directed staff to look into a 20-year loan of approximately $800,000 at 5 percent interest. The city hopes new construction will pay for the loan, which will cost the city $75-80,000 a year for 20 years to repay the debt.

Councilwoman Carmen Scott said while she hopes new construction will eventually pay for the work, the city has to have the resources to handle the debt service.

The meeting ended with staff from the city and water district being asked to draft a project plan and interagency agreement to be brought back to the council and commission.

Des Moines wants to get moving on the work as soon as possible. If everything fell into place the work could begin as early as this year, but it is likely construction on the project would begin spring/summer of 2011.

The current system has a six-inch line running along 8th Avenue from South 219th Street to South 227th Street, a six-inch pipe along the alley between Marine View Drive and 7th Avenue and an eight-inch line running along 7th Avenue from South 219th Street to South 227th Street.

At 220th, 222nd, 225th and 226th streets there are six-inch lines connected to the alley going east to Marine View Drive, and there are six-inch lines going west from 8th Avenue to Marine View Drive but they do not connect to each other, instead dead-ending on either side of Marine View Drive.