Anita Campbell
County Reporter
United States Missouri Senator Eric Schmidtt has informed the City of Warsaw that the community has received a $24,997,004 RAISE grant. The strength of this grant application is the community’s 25-year continuous effort to improve its Drake Harbor Waterfront Park, the revitalized downtown, and combining this with a detailed planning process to develop its three primary roadways into complete streets.
The grant will provide the funds to link the three roadways through the downtown, to the waterfront trails with expansion of one of the trails. A unique feature is a stormwater mitigation area on the Town Branch that will also incorporate a park area known as Light Plant Park.
Mayor Eddie Simons was ecstatic about the RAISE grant.
“The City Council and City Administrator, Randy Pogue, have worked diligently on this grant to improve the streets of Warsaw,” said Simons. “We have applied for this grant several times over the past 12 to 14 years and it is very rewarding to finally be selected. Our partnership with Burns and McDonnell in Kansas City helped us finish up a winning grant.”
Simons pointed out that the work to be done would change the “Face of Warsaw” for the better.
“With the work to be done we will have sidewalks all the way to Eastgate Shopping Center as well as all the way to J&D Pharmacy. There will also be a plan to control flooding of the Town Branch,” said Simons. “We will have new LED street lights throughout the city and people will be able to walk around much easier.”
Warsaw sits on the 90-mile marker of the Lake of the Ozarks and is just one mile downstream of Truman Dam and Reservoir. Connecting to U.S. Route 65 (US 65) and Missouri Route 7 (Route 7) in three locations, the roadway segments included in the project span across the city to complete two east-west routes and one north-south route. These improvements will facilitate visitor traffic coming into the city from the major highways as well as local circulation, creating safe links to neighborhoods, schools, retail areas, and recreation and nature nodes.
The improvements also extend Warsaw’s natural water amenities from the Marina District into the community by protecting and expanding on natural wetland areas.
City Administrator Randy Pogue was instrumental in preparing the grant proposal.
“Receiving this grant has been a 14-year process. We have submitted 13 times in this 14-year period. We were persistent with the pursuit of this grant, because we knew it would enhance what the city committed to in 1997, relating to the downtown revitalization and Drake Harbor Recreation improvements. Over this time period, we stayed committed to the Drake Harbor improvements. This was a highly ranking quality of life item in the grant scoring,” said Pogue.
“During discussions over the last three years with the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) on how to improve our application, we knew we were getting close to receiving the funds. Last year we conducted a survey of the community to determine if the residents still wanted these improvements. The survey provided a resounding yes to continue the pursuit of Complete Street approach for these three roadways,” said Pogue.
The project is intended to improve safety and livability in the community by reconstructing the roadways to accommodate parking, bicycles, ADA compliant sidewalks, curbing, and pavement striping. The Complete Streets approach will address current shortcomings in disability access, safe routes to school, and citizen’s health and recreation benefits by providing bike and pedestrian access to the city’s trail system along the waterfront.
“The infrastructure improvements stated in the application, will allow citizens of all mobilities to have access to daily needs and recreation opportunities. It uniquely allows our three major roadways to reach all corners of the community from and to the downtown and Drake Harbor Recreation Area,” said Pogue.
The current ditch-stormwater collection system will be replaced with integrated green stormwater infrastructure and an enclosed storm sewer system to mitigate street flooding and promote environmental sustainability. Intersection improvements, new drive approaches, and center turn lanes where feasible will address access and intersection safety challenges.
“I must thank Mayor Simons and the Board of Alderman for continuing to support the pursuit of this grant opportunity. It would be so easy to decide to not try anymore,” said Pogue.
According to Mayor Simons, work on the project will begin within the next two years, however, the entire project will not be completed until 2030.
