PUBLIC NOTICE
The City of Salina, Kansas has applied for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance (PA) Program funding through Kansas Department of Emergency Management (KDEM) as a sub-recipient.
Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), federal actions must be reviewed and evaluated for feasible alternatives and for social, economic, historic, environmental, legal, and safety considerations. Under Executive Order (EO) 11988 and EO 11990, FEMA is required to consider alternatives, and to provide a public notice of any proposed actions in or affecting floodplains or wetlands. This notice may also fulfill requirements under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).
Funding for the proposed project will be conditional upon compliance with all applicable federal, tribal, state, and local laws, regulations, floodplain standards, permit requirements and conditions.
Sub-Applicant: City of Salina, Kansas
Project Title: 1065501-Bill Burke Park Storm Repairs and Mitigation, PA-4897-27
Location of Proposed Work:
- Bill Burke Sport Center, 1501 E Crawford St Salina KS 67401
- GPS Coordinates: 38.832824, -97.586311
Special Flood Hazard Area Zone:
This project will perform work in a regulatory floodway, identified as the AE Zone or the area of 1% annual chance of flood risk, per Salina Flood Insurance Rate Map panel 20169C0229C, dated 04/18/2018.
Proposed Work and Purpose:
The City of Salina proposes to use FEMA Public Assistance Grant funds to complete repairs to Bill Burke Park including concrete walkways and pad with associated railing and embankment erosion replacement along with the addition of two (2) retaining walls to reduce the risk of future damage. Project, except for the two (2) retaining walls, restores area to pre-disaster condition.
A. Site 01: North Embankment Erosion Area (38.83355, -97.586584). Work will replace dislodged soils from the embankment along the Smoky River measuring 52 feet long by 12 feet wide at a depth of 10 feet. A hazard mitigation upgrade will include construction of a retaining wall measuring 122-feet long by 15-feet tall (with 10-foot pilings), to reduce future scouring.
B. Site 02: South Embankment Erosion Area (38.832824, -97.5886311). A second area of embankment erosion measuring 150 feet long by 45 feet wide and 12 feet deep needs soil replacement of soil to fill and repair the South side bank near the City’s water intake structure and pier area. For mitigation purposes, to enhance stabilization of the embankment, another retaining wall measuring 162-foot long by 15-foot tall with 12-foot-deep pilings will be installed. The action to install the two retaining walls will require a partial dewatering of the river channel during the construction phase.
C. Site 03: Concrete Walkways (38.833524, -97.586649). Three 5-foot-wide damaged concrete sidewalks totaling 138 in length, will be removed and replaced.
D. Site 04: Concrete Pad (38.833401, -97.586493). A damaged concrete pad measuring 28 feet long by 8 feet wide and a half of a foot thick will be removed and replaced.
E. Site 05: Safety Railings (38.833427, -97.586480). The associated sidewalk safety railing will also need to be removed and replaced totaling: five (5) safety railings (1.75-inch diameter eight (8) foot long by two (2) foot high double poles).
F. Site 06: Safety Railings (38.8332427, -97.586480). Eight (8) additional safety railings damaged around the fishing pier (1.75-inch diameter, eight (8) foot long by forty-four (44) inches high with twenty-three (23) metal vertical poles) will also be replaced.
Project Alternatives:
Alternative #1 (No Action): The no-action alternative would not be appropriate because the embankment would continue to fail, further eroding features of the park and depriving citizens of trail access.
Alternative #2 (Repair In-Kind): Deemed not appropriate because the embankment would be at continued risk of renewed erosion events during flooding events and again result in park trail use closures.
Alternative #3 (Repair In-Kind with added Retaining Wall Mitigation): This is the alternative implemented by this project, to install new lengths of concrete retaining walls alongside the trail. This provides added protection from future flood events for the park and embankment. This reduces cost of similar repairs in the future.
Comment Period:
This will serve as the final public notice regarding the above‐described action funded by the FEMA PA program. All comments received can be submitted online, via email, to FEMA at [email protected]. Please use the subject line: “DR-4897 PW-27, Floodplain Comment.”
Interested persons may also submit comments and questions in writing, or request a map of this specific project, by writing to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 11224 Holmes Rd. Kansas City, MO 64131. Written comments should be sent with the subject line “DR-4897-PW-27, Floodplain Comment” to the above address within 15 days of the date of posting.
All comments are due by no later than 15 days of the posted date of this notice.
POSTED ON August 14, 2026