OSAGE BEACH, Mo. - Tuesday night's storms caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to the 92-acre Osage Beach City Park, according to Brian Willey, Osage Beach parks and recreation manager.
"The parking lot, which we put in last year, cost about $80,000; and that is just shot," he said. "So we are looking at damage in the hundreds of thousands of dollars."
Tuesday night's storms, which produced about 8 to 9 inches of rain in the lake area, wreaked havoc on the park's many amenities and forced the city to close the park Wednesday until further notice.
Willey said the park's seven-acre pond overflowed, sending water and logs down the hillside. When the logs hit the parking lot, they lodged themselves under the pavement.
He said there was damage to the park's ball fields, landscaping and fences. Plus, a foot of water was standing in the concession stands. Willey also noted the park lost one of its trailers and a boat, and every canal in the park had overflowed, causing additional standing water among the park's roads.
"The pavement is hard to find due to the amount of water in the park from the storms. The playground did not get damaged, but the mulch is all gone. Plus, the pavilion near the pond is completely under water," he said. "Our main concern right now is the pond's levee. The Corps of Engineers has to come out to look at it. These are all reasons why the park is closed to the public."
Willey said the normal flow of the Osage Beach City Park's pond allows it to rise 8 feet safely. However, with the amount of rainfall Tuesday night and additionally throughout last week, the amount of water coming in was faster than what was going out.
Willey said the condition of the pond's dam will determine how soon damage can be repaired and the park reopened. If the dam is OK, a major cleanup can begin, he said.
"It's all up in the air right now ... we don't have a date to reopen the park. However, it possibly could be mid-October," he said.
Osage Beach City Administrator Nancy Viselli said an insurance adjuster is scheduled to assess damage early this week.
In the meantime, the Annual Osage Beach Fall Festival, which has been held at the park for the last few years, has been moved to Osage Beach City Hall and is scheduled for 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7.
One reserved soccer event, which was scheduled for Wednesday was cancelled. She said there are eight scheduled reservations/events that were on the books through the end of October.
"Besides our festival, the other events are pending until the park damage is assessed and we know more about what and when areas of the park can be repaired and/or re-opened," said Jeana Woods, assistant city administrator.
Willey encouraged residents to use the city's other outdoors recreation area, Peanick Park. He said it has smaller baseball fields, a walking trail, playground, pavilion, basketball courts and horseshoe pits.
He also advises everyone to not enter the park, with a "Closed" sign posted and cones blocking the entrance. Until flash flood warnings were removed, Willey and his staff could not even enter the park.
He said it is dangerous right now and asks everyone to adhere to its closing.
"The curiosity is up and people want to see what it looks like, but it is dangerous to come down there. I please ask that people stay out of the park for their own safety," he said.
"The quicker we can get the work done, the faster we can reopen."