Welcome to the city of St Joseph's weekly digital newsletter. City Link is your source for timely and relevant information from your local government.
Thursday, November 14, 2018
Stormwater Pumping Station

The flood of 2019 has lasted for almost eight months now. The Missouri River flood stage is 17 feet and on March 13, it rose above 17 feet and has been above ever since. On August 11, it dropped to 17.2 feet and on September 12, to 17.08 feet, but for the most part it has been around 20-21 feet. A record was set on March 22, when the Missouri River crested at 32.12 feet. 

Thanks to 21 st century technology, city crews were able to send everyone home when St. Joseph’s southside was evacuated in March and the operations manager was able to run the plant on an iPad. He was able to monitor pump stations, dissolved oxygen, air flow and pressure, oil temperature and pressure on blowers and the status of all the pumps and other equipment.

Even with this technology, the flooding still causes problems at the Water Protection facility. Normal flow at the plant is 15 to 17 million gallons per day. If the river is at 17 feet and the flow is more than normal, it will not gravity flow out to the river. It must be pumped from the emergency pump station at the south end of facility. At a river stage of 24 feet, the gatewell structure must be closed because if it rains that overflow will not gravity flow to the river and will flood 759 Highway. 

When the gate is closed and we have a rain event, crews set temporary pumps on the levee to pump the combined sewer overflow, as known as rainwater, over the levee. This year, that gate was closed for 49 days because the Missouri River was over 24 feet for that many days. The city has had to rely on temporary stormwater pumps four out of the past five years to de-water the area around the Water Protection facility .

On April 23, the City Council passed a resolution to build a permanent stormwater pump station directly south of the ultra-violet/emergency pump station, located at the south end of the facility. Garney Companies, Inc./Snyder & Associates were awarded the bid for $4,661,000. The station will have the capability to pump up to 84 million gallons per day, along with the existing emergency pump station and its 54 million gallons per day capability. Depending on the river, the project is scheduled to be completed by the end of December. For crews at the Water Protection facility, this project cannot be finish soon enough as they know t his will be money well spent.
Don't Make it Easy

The official start of winter may be more than a month away, but recent cold snaps are already driving the urge to warm up vehicles, often leaving them unlocked and unattended. Bear in mind, the warmth of a morning commute may pale in comparison to the heat of frustration you’ll feel if your car is gone when you return from your home, office or coffee run. Please, don’t make it easy.
Veteran's Legacy and Reading Room

The Joyce Raye Patterson 50+ Activity Center held an event on Friday, November 8, to honor all veterans and celebrate the opening of their Veteran’s Legacy and Reading Room exhibit.  
 
The exhibit honors veterans and includes military memorabilia from pre-Civil War through the War of Afghanistan. Accompanying the items are stories of veterans’ experiences, written in their own words, to preserve their history and legacy for their family to share stories about human suffering and life lessons.  
 
The exhibit is made possible through a generous loan by Milton and Jan Toratti, members of the Joyce Raye Patterson 50+ Activity Center. Milt is a retired U.S. Army Transportation Corps Officer who made his way up the ranks, serving at all levels of staff and command including a tour in Europe and combat in Vietnam where he earned the Bronze Star with “V” device for heroism.
 
The Veteran’s Legacy and Reading Room is open to all ages Monday-Friday from 8am-5pm, excluding holidays. It can also be open by appointment. Presentations by Mr. Toratti are available to be scheduled for those interested. Individuals, groups, tours and field trips are invited to spend some time viewing this extraordinary exhibit and learning more about the history of our country’s military and veterans. The exhibit will be available for touring through October 2020. For more information or to schedule a group visit, contact the Joyce Raye Patterson 50+ Activity Center at 271-4666 or email jnoel@stjoemo.org.
Surveillance Equals Health Prevention

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), epidemiological, or public health surveillance is the ongoing, systemic collection, analysis and interpretation of health-related data essential to planning, implementation... read more
New Addition to the Tree

For several years, the St. Joseph Parks, Recreation & Civic Facilities Department has created Christmas ornaments featuring a city facility. Past ornaments have included the Remington Nature Center and the Missouri Theater. This year, the featured ornament is Phil Welch Stadium, St. Joseph’s iconic baseball park and home to the 2019 MINK League champions, the St. Joseph Mustangs.

Built in 1939, the stadium is celebrating its 80 th year of providing outstanding baseball to St. Joseph. Dedicated to former Mayor Phil Welch, the ballpark has hosted teams from a variety of professional leagues including the Kansas City Monarchs, college teams, the Boys Baseball World Series and the MINK League. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the stadium was home to the St. Joseph Cardinals, the minor league team affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals. Over the stadium’s long history, Baseball Hall of Famers Yogi Berra, Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle, Satchel Paige and Earl Weaver all played at Phil Welch Stadium.

To purchase one or more of these ornaments, visit the gift shop at the Remington Nature Center. Not only do they look great hanging from a branch of a Christmas tree, but are a wonderful way to start, or continue, a holiday tradition celebrating the amazing recreational facilities throughout St. Joseph.
(816) 271-5300