West Newsmagazine 12-4-19

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By JEFFREY BRICKER
A three-year saga over a waterfall on
private property in Wildwood may be
reaching a conclusion. After numerous
meetings of the city’s Planning
and Zoning [P&Z] Commission, along
with hours of work by city officials,
the question of whether the man-made
waterfall on the property of Tom and
Karin Roberts presents a health hazard
or not may soon be determined.
Not that any possible conclusion
will bring satisfaction to all parties
involved.
“We have been very patient, tolerant
and cooperative during this whole
[almost three year] process, but we will not
allow anymore testing as we consider it an
invasion of our privacy as well as a witch
hunt by the Hudson’s and the P&Z Commission.
Either issue the CUP [conditional use
permit] or deny it, based on the more than
adequate data that has been presented to you,”
Tom Roberts wrote in an e-mail addressed to
city officials on Nov. 17. “We are collectively
done studying it and I will not allow the city
of Wildwood to drag their feet any longer.”
On Oct. 9, ARDL, Inc. performed a test
on a waterfall that had become the center
of plenty of debate. ARDL is an engineering
firm based out of Mt. Vernon, Illinois.
The Roberts had long held the waterfall
was a cosmetic enhancement to the property
that is filled by rainwater runoff. But
their neighbors, David and Diane Hudson,
offered a different perspective. The Hudsons
have contended that the waterfall is
full of toxic pathogens that have caused
them serious health issues, including pulmonary
problems. The city’s P&Z Commission
concluded the claims were enough
to press pause on approving the water feature
on the Roberts’ property, thus leaving
the homeowners with a CUP for the
past several years.
The study, which was paid for by
the city of Wildwood, was to make a
final determination on the quality of
the water and whether pathogen levels
existed at levels that would be a risk to
humans. Whether or not the final report
presented at the Nov. 18 P&Z Commission
was conclusive remained the
subject of some debate.
“The chemical and nutrient levels are
within reasonable levels in my opinion,”
Dean Dickerson, ARDL VP for Technical
Services, wrote in an e-mail to Wildwood
Parks and Planning Director Joe
Vujnich on Nov. 14.
“I am relieved, yet concerned, to finally
find the lake does indeed contain the HAV
toxin long believed to be the cause of
symptoms,” David Hudson said during the
Nov. 18 meeting of the P&Z Commission.
He informed the commission that he
had contacted the Missouri Department of
Natural Resources [MDNR] and shared the
results of the water test by ARDL. Moreover,
Hudson claimed that MDNR shared
his concerns and that if the water feature
was on public property, they would require
some form of mitigation.
December 4, 2019
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
I NEWS I 17
Waterfall tests are in; Wildwood commission pushes further discussion
The waterfall feature on the property of Tom and Karen
Roberts in Wildwood.
“This has been going on for some time,”
Mayor Jim Bowlin said. “Why are we just
now hearing from MDNR?”
Vujnich responded that it was his understanding
that MDNR had no jurisdiction over
the matter, as the water feature on the Roberts
property was well below the state-mandated
minimum size. He also informed the commission
that he was contacted by a representative
from MDNR on the matter just that day
but had yet to speak with the person.
Vujnich cautioned that they needed to
consider additional opinions on the issue
carefully.
“Certainly anybody can offer an opinion.
But at this stage we need concise and relative
information,” Vujnich said.
Vujnich concurred that the ARDL study
did conclude that there was nothing in the
water that would be harmful to humans or
“out of the ordinary.” He went on to remind
the commission that ARDL has done
“extensive” work for the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers and has expertise in the area
of water sampling.
Nevertheless, several members of P&Z
raised concerns about the results and
echoed comments Hudson made earlier in
See WILDWOOD, page 22
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