Callaway County leaders discuss future flooding fixes

Jefferson City and Callaway County leaders, farmers and business owners met on Wednesday morning to discuss new ways to prevent flooding in the area.

The meeting was held at Turkey Creek Golf Center in Jefferson City, which was damaged by the flooding.

At the meeting, leaders discussed whether they should fix the current levees or work with the Army Corp of Engineers on new way ways to prevent future flooding and reduce the time that an area is flooded.

Callaway County Commissioner Roger Fischer said the consensus from the meeting was to look forward to the future and find ways to improve the levee system and reduce the number of times the levees are topped.

Owner of the Turkey Creek Golf Center and Capital Bluffs Event Center Danny Baumgartner agreed they should look for ways to improve the levees to help everyone in the area.

“We’re all in this together, that’s why we meet in meetings like this, we’re trying to figure out the best route is,” Baumgartner said.

His biggest worry is now that the water is going down, people will forget about the risk.

“The water disappears, and people forget about it,” Baumgartner said. “But the Corp is really working with us, and they’ve got some good ideas. They are putting a plan together, and they are asking us to put a plan together.”

Baumgartner’s business completely stopped during the flooding because there was no access to the event center or courses.

The golf course was completely flooded, and now he has to decided whether or not he will rebuild.

“I have to take a strong look, do I want to sit there and try to rebuild everything with the damage we have, or do I just let it sit for a while to see where we are going with these levees,” he said.

Jose Cruz, a local farmer, said he was put at a stand still after the flooding.

“Out of the 11 hundred acres we farm, we will have zero crops in this year, absolutely nothing being able to be planted, not one acre,” he said.

Crus said local officials and businesses should work together to find a long-term solution.

“If we can maintain the momentum set here today, and if we can get a plan in place, a solid plan, that we can vastly change how this river bottom is farmed,” Cruz said. “In the end it will make it better for everybody, the businesses, the people who live here, the people traveling from Jefferson City to the east.”