Thanks to the efforts of RDA, residents, businesses and the Turkey Creek Stakeholders from both sides of the state line, the Unified Government (U.G.) Board of Commissioners on August 2 voted to continue funding its portion of the $92 million Turkey Creek flood control project. Once completed, the project will provide essential protection for residents and businesses along the Turkey Creek corridor, including along Southwest Blvd. in Rosedale.

The flood control project is being paid for through a partnership between Kansas City , Kan. (U.G.), Kansas City , Mo. , and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Unified Government's contribution to the project is slated to be $12 million over the next five to seven years. Kansas City , Mo. is scheduled to provide $23 million and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is scheduled to provide $57 million. The vast majority of improvements and repairs are being completed in Rosedale.

The commitment of the U.G. to the project had come into question in the weeks leading up to the August 2 vote. At least two Commissioners had expressed reservations about the significant cost to the U.G. to pay for the project and had requested the project be put on hold. This action would have seriously jeopardized federal funding of the project.

However, residents and businesses in Rosedale and elsewhere rallied around the project and called for the Commission to uphold its commitments and support continued funding. Members of the Turkey Creek Stakeholders - an ad-hoc group of businesses, KCK and KCMO city staff, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers staff, U.S. Congressional staff, Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment staff, and representatives from several railroads - contacted the Commissioners and wrote letters to Mayor Joe Reardon to urge support for the project.

At the July 30 public hearing before the Commission, several business owners and residents from the Southwest Blvd. corridor in Rosedale told the Commissioners that the flood control efforts are necessary to protect their livelihoods and ensure a thriving economic future for the area.

RDA Executive Director Wendy Wilson also spoke at the July 30 meeting, reminding the Commissioners that 37 businesses along the Southwest Blvd. corridor in Rosedale continue to thrive and provide tax dollars to the U.G. despite a long history of flooding from Turkey Creek. These businesses have endured with the hope and promise of a flood control project that would significantly reduce future flooding. They contribute more than $1.3 million per year in property taxes (all 37 businesses) and sales taxes (from 6 businesses only) to the Unified Government.

Completion of the flood control project is critically important to the long-term viability of Rosedale and especially the businesses along the Southwest Blvd. corridor and in the West Bottoms on both sides of the state line. The project also has significant ramifications for future economic development and basic public safety along Southwest Blvd.

Although the Commissioners approved the continued funding for the 2008 budget year, some of them, including the Mayor, said they will be looking for alternative funding sources for the project in the future. Formation of either a Drainage District or Benefit District was suggested. Either of these two methods would create an additional tax on area businesses that have seen their taxes increase an average of 9% per year for the past two years while continuing to be at-risk for flood damages.

Wilson advised against this approach, saying that the U.G. should ensure that the cost is shared across the county. The health and tax base of Rosedale is important to the overall health of Wyandotte County . Placing the burden of construction costs for the Turkey Creek project solely on the backs of Rosedale businesses is unfair and could set a bad precedent for the county's other major infrastructure and public works projects.