PORTAGE | The city will participate in a feasibility study to determine if a drainage area, which has become a nuisance, can be turned into an environmental study area.

The Board of Works on Monday agreed to contribute between $685 and $2,743 as a local match to the Save the Dunes Council to look at an area between Airport and Hamstrom roads, south of Central Avenue, to determine if the area could be turned into a water quality feature, such as a wetland.

The area, near Kyle Elementary School, contains a large drainage pipe that "floated" to the surface and is surrounded by a safety fence.

Director of Public Works Craig Hendrix said former city community planning director A.J. Monroe presented the idea to the Save the Dunes Council. The council sought and received a grant to look into the possibility to turning the area into something more pleasant and educational.

Mayor Olga Velazquez said she has had conversations with Portage Township Schools Superintendent Michael Berta about the possibility of school children using the revised area for environmental education.

JF New, of Walkerton, Ind., is the consultant conducting the study. The total cost of the study is $54,861 and the city has committed to paying for 1.25 percent to 5 percent of the study's cost as a local match.