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Severe rains in 2018 flooded streets and parking lots in Tracy, but city staff say the southwest part of town has flooding problems even without major storms. On Tuesday, the city of Tracy asked Lyon County for help in funding possible a possible drainage project.

TRACY — Like many communities in southwest Minnesota, the city of Tracy was hit hard by flooding from severe rains in 2018. But it doesn’t even take a historic storm to cause flooding in parts of town, Tracy city staff said Tuesday. A crumbled drainage line over a century old and other factors leave stormwater with nowhere to go.

“What we’re looking for is a new storm drainage system,” to help stop frequent flooding in the southern part of Tracy, said Tracy EDA Coordinator Jeff Carpenter, speaking to Lyon County commissioners on Tuesday. “We’re looking for a little collaboration from everybody.”

Carpenter and Tracy City Administrator Erik Hansen appeared before the Lyon County Board on Tuesday, and asked for the county’s financial help in a possible drainage project.

Commissioners approved $54,000 in funding to help pay for upfront engineering costs for the project. They also asked city staff to keep them updated on Tracy’s application for a national EDA grant that needs local matching funds.

Tracy has had recurring problems with flooding, especially in the southwest part of town, Carpenter and Hansen said. The railroad line running through town, development over a historic creek, and insufficient drainage lines all factor into the problem. A county drainage tile line running under Front Street in Tracy is 110 years old, and is in disrepair, they said.

Carpenter said flooding problems have stalled efforts to develop parts of Tracy, as well as needed repairs to Front Street.

According to a 2004 master plan for stormwater mitigation in Tracy, taking steps like replacing the tile line and building water retention areas in the southwest part of town could help control flooding. Hansen said Tracy is working with the Southwest Regional Development Commission to apply for a national EDA grant of up to $2.5 million for the stormwater mitigation project. However, the city will need to have some preliminary engineering work done first.

“We can’t apply for the grant until that’s done,” Hansen said. Carpenter said the engineering work will also help the city decide on its best options for addressing the flooding.

Tracy was asking for the county’s help in paying for the engineering costs, as well as part of the matching funds required for the grant. The city of Tracy would be providing most of the $500,000 matching funds for the grant, partly from the sale of a city housing project, Hansen and Carpenter said.

Tracy was asking the county for $54,000 to help with the up-front engineering costs of the project, as well as $75,000 for matching funds.

Carpenter and Hansen said there was a potential for the drainage project to get some support from the Minnesota Department of Transportation too. A planned 2027 construction project on U.S. Highway 14 could possibly be moved up to go along with city construction, they said.

“The city of Tracy could certainly use some help in getting this done,” said Commissioner Rick Anderson.

Commissioners voted in favor of providing the $54,000 for engineering, but they had questions about the grant matching funds. Hansen said Tracy doesn’t yet know what the total grant amount will be. Commissioner consensus was to have Tracy representatives come back before commissioners when the engineering report is completed, and talk about the matching funds request.