Neighbors on Prier Lane were assured by engineers Monday that additional houses in the Cardinal Pointe subdivision will only help their storm water flooding problems.

Teresa Cleaver, 1517 Prier Lane, appeared during the visitor comment portion of the City Council meeting that she’s had water inside her house twice in the last month when her whole back yard became a pond. Her lot, she said, is the lowest in the subdivision, which is east of Oronogo Street and north of Fountain Road.

There are two north-south streets in the subdivision, Prier Lane and Brewster Lane. Schuber Mitchell Homes is seeking approval to complete a third plat, adding Clark Lane to the east of Brewster.

As he did at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting last month, Joshua Oathout, representing Anderson Engineering, said storm water from 7 to 8 acres is currently draining to Brewster Lane. 

To alleviate that, he said his firm has designed a way to divert a majority of the water underneath Clark Lane, out the north end of the subdivision and down a natural channel and into King Jack Park’s two lakes.

City Administrator Carl Francis said the city staff agrees that the new plat and engineering will correct a very long term problem.

The council accepted on first reading a council bill to approve the plat.

It also accepted first reading of a council bill to approve Tom Perry’s request to rezone 215 S. Ball Street from single-family to multi-family. Perry’s request was advanced to the council by P&Z after he explained that there have been apartments in the house since a mother-in-law apartment was built in 1902. There are now three apartments.

A pool would make Webb City better

Susie Crutcher, a persistent proponent of building a municipal swimming pool, also spoke during the visitor comments portion of the meeting. 

She said she is aware the city may be in a position to make major park improvements and thinks that’s reason to revisit the topic.

She briefly reviewed the city’s swimming pool history, going back to the 1960s when she said the old pool was packed most of the time. The old pool, located in Hatten Park where the bath house still stands, was condemned in 1967. A campaign to build a new pool, which would have been financed with a $100,000 bond issue, failed in 1969.

She noted that the city’s population has nearly doubled since the old pool was so popular.

Rather than an aquatic center, she said she just wants a recreation pool.

“There are so many wonderful things about our city,” she said. “A pool would make it better.”

Board member changes

Council members voted to accept the resignations of Jason Keller and Don Wynne from the Planning & Zoning Commission. 

Then they approved Mayor Lynn Ragsdale’s appointments to replace them. Clarence Greeno will complete Wynne’s term, which expires in May 2023. Chris Taylor will complete Keller’s term, which expires in May 2022. 

Taylor resigned from the Board of Adjustments and will be replaced by his wife, Jessica Taylor.