Library requests city’s help diverting water from building

Joanne and Ken Krupp attended the April 8 Gainesville City Council meeting, asking the council members to help find a remedy for a water issue that is continually causing the Ozark County Volunteer Library building to flood. 

“There’s a situation that has been going on for many, many years and that is the drainage ditch for the road next to the library,” Ken said, addressing the council. “The library has been spending a lot of money to try and clean itself up, make itself nice and every time we do... [water] comes down through the side wall.”

Ken said the issue is with a drainage ditch that is built alongside Second Street and uses the building’s side wall.

“All the water that comes off the road, goes into the ditch, right to the wall and then down the side of the wall - it has to leak. No way to keep from it,” he said.

City maintenance Supervisor Mike Davis said he’s looked at the ditch and talked with Ken and Joanne about the issue. He said there used to be a curb built there that helped divert the water from the wall; however, as the pavement on Second Street has been built up and the curb has deteriorated, water coming from the upper property, which is quite sloped, all funnels down to where it hits the side wall of the library. 

“What we’re trying to do is get a curb gutter that runs at least the length of the building, so any water that comes to the side of the building either goes one way or the other,” Ken said. 

The city council said they would put the item on next month’s agenda and take the time between now and the May 13 meeting to investigate the problem, talk with Davis about a possible solution and find out how much a solution to fix the problem would cost.

When asking how he would find out about the city council’s decision, Krupp mentioned that he was under the impression that the council didn’t want visitors at the meeting. The council quickly reassured him that the meetings are open to the public, and anyone is welcome to attend. “We do want you at the meetings, anytime... open door,” Councilman Dana Crisp said. 

Later during the meeting, the council was informed of city resident Manuel Asher’s request to have the city use its tractor and blade to help smooth his driveway, which was damaged when a plugged city culvert diverted water over High School Drive and onto his property. Council woman Treva Warrick said that other people have asked similar requests and have been denied, so she hesitated to agree. Lana Bushong and Dana Crisp argued that, in this case, it was city’s culvert and drain that was at fault, therefore they believed the city should help fix the drive. Crisp, Bushong, Lynne and Rodgers voted to allow city employees to use their equipment to help Asher, provided he purchased the base rock. Warrick voted against the request. The motion was passed. 

The council also discussed ways to fix the issues with the culvert to keep further damage from occurring.