How much is preserving Southside Pond worth? If it's priceless, than city council and taxpayers should have no problem with the 2.2-million dollars it will cost to clean it out. That's the estimate in a 180-page report coming to council on Thursday night from their consultant on the project. The pond needs to be cleaned out, which will include removing contaminated soil, and installing a forebay to collect sediment in the future. Mayor Pat Sobeski says the citizens have spoken on their preferred option. "There was certainly a very, very, very, strong feeling from that the historic nature, the cultural part of having a pond was important, and so staff listened to what the residents have to say and have recommended a pond with a forebay to collect sediment as it comes in so in the future you just have small dredging projects. And it improves water quality a touch." But that strong feeling for keeping the pond was prior to the price tags coming into play. The cheaper, and more environmentally friendly option, would be filling the pond in at $1.2-million, to create a stream that would help improve the water flow and quality for Cedar Creek. Sobeski says City Council will have to decide whether spending an extra million dollars to preserve the pond is worth the expense. "It'll be interesting because if you believe in science, you want the fast flowing crick, if you're a hard nosed accountant, you'd be saying that's the way we have to go. But you also have that historic/cultural part, so council will have to weigh it."

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