From the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of St Joseph comes word of ongoing efforts to prepare city facilities in low-lying areas from the rising Missouri River.

St Joseph Parks Department employees have been busy preparing for rising river waters in several areas.  Parks of the Riverwalk were closed more than a week ago between the Remington Nature Center and downtown, because several areas of the walk were already under water.

At the nature center, staff members started moving materials and supplies fro storage in the basement to other locations.  Officials say they worked on improving the seal of both the walk-in and overhead doors that access the basement, and then tested those seals by allowing the area around the doors to flood.  They found some minor seepage and repaired it.  They also placed sandbags on the east side of the building to divert water away from the basement doors.

Officials say the main floor of the nature center was constructed at a level significantly higher than what river levels were during the 1993 flood.  It will be business at usual at the facility unless flooding makes it unsafe to access the building.

Parks employees have begun moving non-essential equipment, materials and supplies away from the Heritage Park Softball Complex as well.  They placed sandbags around the park’s pump station to allow for a few more days use for recreation leagues.  Observers say floodwaters have been slowly rising on the west side of the complex, and are now within a few feet of breaching the playing fields.  Officials say as soon as that happens, the remaining supplies and equipment will be removed and the complex will be closed.

Recreation staff is looking at alternate locations to complete the summer session of the recreation softball and kickball leagues.

The transient boat dock on the Missouri River was removed during the week of May 30.  That dock, between the Missouri Department of Conservation’s French Bottoms Boat Ramp and the Remington Nature Center should come out of the river when levels exceed 21 feet.  Parks department staff, along with Brooner Construction & Crane were involved in the removal.