RICHMOND – Three Excelsior Springs leaders asked and received Ray County Commission support for a Fishing River study to prevent floods that have struck the city several times since 1951, including June 25, 2021.

Mayor Sharon Powell, City Manager Molly McGovern and Community Development Director Melinda Mehaffy outlined the plan Monday for commissioners.

Rep. Doug Richey suggested the city seek a share of Missouri’s federal infrastructure and COVID relief funds to study and relieve flooding, McGovern said. The city then received support from the Clay County Commission to spend $350,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding to study Fishing River flooding between Excelsior Springs and Lawson.

“All of that is outside our city limits,” McGovern said, but it causes flooding downtown.

“It flooded the Hall of Waters and The Elms Hotel,” Powell said. “The Elms is now in renovation in their spa because it was just obliterated. … It rained so hard and flooded so bad (June 25) we had to cancel Waterfest. We had too much water for Waterfest! What used to be (flooding) – I would say every 10 years – now seems to be every two or three or five years.”

“And they’re saying more flooding this year in our area,” Presiding Commissioner Bob King said. “Hope not.”

Other downtown flooding studies have been done, McGovern said, with the latest completed in the early 1980s. But this time, the plan is to go beyond a study to taking action, she said.

“I’d like for us to actually have a plan to implement,” she said.

Eastern Commissioner Dave Powell questioned whether a new study would duplicate previous studies.

“Can you build on this without doing this study all over again?” he asked.

“No. We have to do the study all over again,” McGovern said. “Property development in those areas has occurred, not a lot, but it has occurred.”

The properties could be affected adversely if not taken into consideration when trying to mitigate flooding.

Also, the study would be aided by tools that did not exist 30 years ago, such as two-dimensional modeling, she said.

“The other thing we’ve learned since the ’80s is, projects are better if you have citizens involved in the planning process,” McGovern said. “We need to include the public.”

There is no estimate for what flood mitigation could cost. McGovern said the plan is to ask the Department of Natural Resources to fund mitigation work with federal money.

“It’s too soon to know how they’ll distribute (federal funds),” she said. “But to wait means to lose the opportunity.”

Flood mitigation could last a couple of decades, but the effort could begin as early as 2023, McGovern said.

“This isn’t just one project. It could be a series of small things,” she said. “We just won’t know until we get into that process.”

“A project this size just takes a long time to get underway,” Mayor Powell said.

She suggested part of the solution to city flooding might involve creating a series of retention ponds that release flood water slowly.

Excelsior Springs wants nothing from Ray County, McGovern said, except to voice support for the effort and to help overcome unforeseen pitfalls that could occur as the cooperative effort among Ray and Clay counties, and the city, advances. Mayor Powell said Clay County officials want Ray County to support the effort.

“They were very favorable for the two counties working together,” she said, adding, “Clay County was willing to extend funds in Ray County in order to help us with this.”

The reason no money is sought from Ray County is that benefits from the work would affect downtown Excelsior Springs, which is entirely in Clay County, McGovern said.

“Your seat at the table and your voice – that’s what we’re asking,” McGovern told the Ray County Commission.

“No money,” Mayor Powell stressed.

“We just want your help with the citizen engagement,” McGovern said.

“I would be available to help you with that,” Western Commissioner Gary Wilhite, whose district includes eastern Excelsior Springs and Lawson, said.

“I’m in favor of this project,” Commissioner Powell said.

Although not planning to seek office next year, King said he would help as long as he remains in office.

The plan is to do the study within a year and to seek implementation funds afterward, McGovern said.

“This year will be about planning, conversations, hearing people’s thoughts and finding out what solutions work and don’t work,” she said.

“Will it have any impact other than downtown Excelsior?” Commissioner Powell asked. “Will it potentially have impact in the county itself, the surrounding area?”

The study would reveal what results to expect, McGovern said.