As the work on the dike road comes to a head the question of who’s responsible for ongoing maintenance of the levee has come up.
“The college does not own the actual road on top of the levee, so that has always been the responsibility of the city to maintain.” said Chris Martin, vice president for finance and business affairs, “Our plan going forward is to work in partnership with the city.”
While the original easement provided an allowance for the city of Coeur d’Alene not only to build the levee but also to maintain it “forever”, NIC has been cooperating with the city to re-certify the levee and will continue to work with the city to maintain it for the benefit of the students and the city.
As part of NIC’s commitment to maintaining the certification of the levee, low maintenance grass will be planted along the sides, as well as the periodic removal of brush and vegetation as needed.
NIC is also working with the city to provide ramp trails instead of stairs in order to make access to and from the dike road more convenient for everyone.
A lot of vegetation, including trees, has had to be removed in order to meet the re-certification requirements for the levee.
“None of us would have chosen to necessarily certify the levee the way that is has had to be certified unless it was absolutely necessary,” said Martin.
According to research done in advance of the original construction of the levee, there is an established history of hazardous flood levels that provide a practical reason for it’s existence. Without the levee NIC and all of the surrounding property which the city owns would exist in a flood zone.
The NIC campus is utilized throughout the year for a variety of public events, including the popular “Art on the Green”, and is committed to doing what they can to make sure that the college is an ongoing benefit and partner with the community.
“What I love about North Idaho College is that this is truly north Idaho’s college,” said Martin. “This is a great campus and people feel like it’s theirs and I think that’s one of the strengths of NIC.”
“I would just like to thank the students. I know this has been an inconvenience,” said Martin. “Everyone has been very supportive of the process.”
