HUTCHINSON, Kan. — It’s been three years since the city of Hutchinson offered a proposal to nearly 400 rural landowners who are in a floodplain to make repairs to the levee system owned by the city.

Now the City Council will give notice of a public hearing on a special assessment to pay for the improvements during Tuesday’s meeting.

Upkeep to the levee system is the city’s obligation, but when the levees needed to be brought up to code, the city asked the county to help pay for the portion of the levee in the county. When the county refused, the city said that it would leave the levee as is, putting property owners in the area into the floodplain. That would mean a large increase in their insurance.

The landowners immediately went to work with the city to establish a special assessment to make the necessary improvements, but delays have pushed the assessment back to now. According to city Manager John Deardoff, further study needed to be made as to how many property owners were within the floodplain. The study also showed that 21 properties would still be in the floodplain even with the improvements. Deardoff says those assessments will be paid by the city.

The remaining 377 parcels of land will be assessed $899.38, which the landowners can pay in a lump sum, or have assessed over a 10-year period. The total cost of the project is $357,951.