The levee district itself has spent more than $20 million on the levee's system of pumps, spillways, berms and gates. And today, the now-more-appealingly named Chesterfield Valley, once a huge, natural flood plain, is a huge retail mecca protected by a levee system, jointly funded by the levee district and the federal government to the tune of about $70 million.
Because of the flood, FEMA required the existing levee to be recertified. The history of the levee is closely tied in with commercial development. In the early 1980s, Spirit of St. Louis Airport opened in the area, prompting St. Louis County to upgrade what was then a much lower, agricultural levee to a structure made to resist a100-year flood. In 1994, after the flood, the city of Chesterfield went a step further, creating business-friendly tax-increment financing [TIF] to attract commercial development to the valley. In 1997, that incentive brought THF—a Wal-Mart developer—into the valley. THFcreated Chesterfield Commons, which has evolved into the longest [2 miles] big-box shopping strip in the country. THF's presence sparked even more development, and the Monarch-Chesterfield Levee District gained the funds to finance the improved, 500-year levee. An estimated
The levee is designed to protect St. Louis County's Chesterfield Valley from a 500-year flood. In 1993, when the existing Monarch levee failed, Chesterfield Valley [previously known, more descriptively, as "Missouri Bottoms" and "Gumbo"] was inundated with more than eight feet of Missouri River overflow. Local residents recall the dramatic images of a main east-west highway [now I-64/40] completely cut off by flood water, and an area landmark—the Smoke House Restaurant—up to its top liquor shelves in muddy water. Before it was over, many of the 300 businesses then in the Gumbo area were flooded.
1993 Chesterfield Valley flood
History: Water flows, and so does money
A constructive activity for teens. Enhancing area recreation. That seems like a good project for teens and community residents, right? So, what's the problem?
…a free, community-based project that is providing a unique leadership opportunity for students from across the region…This Student Leadership Team has been working since July [2010] on Phase I of the project, which includes creating the design for the mural. With the help of professional artist Stuart Morse of Morse Fine Art Studios, the team has been getting creative with concepts that will transform the levee and the future .
On June 4, 2011, a group of 50 students in 8th through 12th grades will lead an expected 600 to 1,000 area residents in painting a student-designed mural on a 500-foot, concrete stretch of the Chesterfield-Monarch floodwall. The community art project, called , is sponsored by Chesterfield Arts, a community non-profit. The group describes the project this way:
The Monarch-Chesterfield levee, in suburban St. Louis, is about to get beautified by a creative, fun community project that could be a good starting point for a wider discussion.
By – Posted on May 30, 2011Posted in: , , ,
real change, one progressive idea at a time
Decorating one levee, blowing up another | Occasional Planet
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий