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THE BRUSH CREEK BULLETIN Volume 6, Issue 5 May/June 2004   THE LONG STRUGGLE TO TAME BRUSH CREEK - A HISTORY, PART 2 - In the last issue of the Brush Creek Bulletin, we looked at how many major cultural institutions and residential areas came to locate on Brush Creek. This month, our two-part series concludes with this look at how the creek's biggest problem - its propensity to flood - eventually created its greatest opportunities. The Brush Creek Flood Control and Beautification Project, initially adopted in the 1980's has brought big changes to the Brush Creek Corridor. It has reduced the danger of flooding along the creek and created major redevelopment along the cultural corridor. Residents of Kansas City who knew Brush Creek a hundred years ago might be surprised at the creek's new status. For early Kansas City, the creek was not seen as a major asset. Around 1880, the stream was covered with brush and infested with water moccasins. Farmers used the creek to cool their horses and cattle. The creek also had the power to disrupt lives. Unidentified man along the banks of Brush Creek near the pedestrian bridge at Central and Ward Parkway. "Brush Creek has always been an unruly stream. In the fall it is harmless, but in the spring it has overflown and driven persons from homes," said The Kansas City Times in 1909. Controlling the Uncontrollable J.C. Nichols faced the flood problem as he began building his residential development, the Country Club Plaza, north of the creek in the early 1900's. Nichols spent six months changing its path to reclaim 30 acres of land from flooding. The creek was compressed, widened and cleared of brush and trees along the banks. The creek had other problems as well. According to the 1938 book Where the Rocky Bluffs Meet, Brush Creek drained 16 square miles of territory in the south part of the city and was subject to frequent overflows. "From pools of stagnant water and sewage, offensive odors arose in dry seasons." The sewer problems associated with Brush Creek continue to this day, as many of the city's sewers, built in the 1920's, carry both sanitary sewage and storm water. The city attempted to deal with the flood and sewage issues just before the depression. As part of a ten-year bond program, the city spent $32 million on a new City Hall, courthouse and, among other projects, the paving of Brush Creek in 1931. The paving of the creek has contributed to some of Kansas City's and Brush Creek's greatest legends. That's because Kansas City political boss Tom Pendergast used his own concrete company to line the creek. One popular legend has it that Pendergast paved his pockets as well by unnecessarily covering the creek in concrete. However, it was the city, not Pendergast, that argued lining the creek would "prevent accumulation of stagnant pools which had created a nuisance" and reduce flooding. Brush Creek looking south from the Country Club Plaza since the 1996 completion of the Federal Project to mitigate flooding and beautify the creek. The area has always been attractive for housing development close to the urban retail center. Another urban myth had it that Pendergast buried his enemies under the concrete. Former Mayor Emanuel Cleaver says when the Brush Creek flood control project engineers began digging out the concrete, "People cautioned me 'you'll find bodies in there.'" But Cleaver says the only bones found in the creek were "probably those of a small dog." Still, some saw the potential for Brush Creek despite its problems. Landscape architect and engineer George Kessler, while designing the park and boulevard system, recommended adding the land around Brush Creek to the plan, and the City Council condemned 40 acres for the Parks Department in 1916. In the late 1930's, the Parks Department created the historic section of Brush Creek Park. Works Project Administration (WPA) workers cleared 120 acres of land, established playgrounds and put in a footbridge at Woodland Avenue. "The Kansas City parks and boulevard system was always intended to connect retail, residential areas and recreation in the city," former Parks and Recreation Department Director Terry Dopson says. "That was Kessler's original vision, and it's worked. The parkways, including the Brush Creek Parkway, have been economic generators." The Parks Department's interest in Brush Creek ensured that the area around it remained open green space. But it would take a disaster to bring together the plan that finally curbed the flood and redefined Brush Creek's role in the redevelopment of the city. 1977 Flood-A Tragic Catalyst On September 12, 1977, 16 inches of rain drove Brush Creek over its banks, killing 25 people and doing nearly $100 million worth of damage to property. The flood problem could no longer be ignored. The city immediately began asking for help to widen and deepen the channel and a decade later, in 1986, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers got approval from Congress to do a flood control project from Roanoke Parkway to Tracy Avenue just east of Troost Avenue. But the Parks and Recreation Department, which had always had a vision for Brush Creek as an important recreational corridor, wanted to see Brush Creek become more than a "bigger concrete drainage ditch," remembers Alvin Groves, divisional vice president of Tetra Tech. Inc. in San Antonio. Groves, a consultant who had worked on the San Antonio Riverwalk, was hired to help with planning. Groves says his firm did an initial study. "We said we can take care of the flood problem, but we can also do something more." Groves envisioned a series of small lakes that created a constant flow, thus creating a pleasant body of water that would attract economic development. At first the corps of engineers was not convinced the idea would work, but after they built a 485-foot model and tested it for two years, its engineers gave their approval. The Prospect Bridge replacement project is expected to be completed this fall. The $8.5 million project includes channel improvements intended to provide flood protection that has been realized by work done in the Plaza and the Paseo Reach of Brush Creek. Bringing the City Together As the corps and the parks department began talking about how to combine flood control with aesthetic enhancements, Cleaver, then a City Council member, got an even bigger idea. He saw the potential to layer economic development - and connect two sides of the city across Troost Avenue, often seen as the city's racial and economic dividing line. "The Brush Creek project wasn't just a flood control plan; it was laced with sociology as well. Some of the most affluent parts of the city were connected to low income parts by water and greenery," he says. In 1987, Cleaver convinced the City Council to pass the "Cleaver Plan," a $51 million sales tax that included funding for the Jazz Hall of Fame, a new American Royal arena, and a beautification plan to augment the corps' flood control efforts. The city, parks department and federal government worked together to create the $58 million Brush Creek Flood Control and Beautification Project that was completed in 1996. Commitment to Work Continues This work turned out to be the initial phase of the project. On October 4, 1998, eight people were killed in a flash flood along Brush Creek, seven of them having been washed off the Prospect Bridge. The city and federal government developed plans to take the flood control and beautification effort all the way east to the Blue River, which is estimated to cost an additional $100 million. Evidence of this work can currently be seen with the Prospect Bridge replacement and channel work in the Woodland and Prospect reaches of Brush Creek. Dopson says Kessler's original idea for the Brush Creek Parkway has proven effective in drawing prestigious residential development and spurring economic development. He says the area around Brush Creek will continue to improve over the next 20 years as the landscaping matures, development continues from Paseo to Cleveland and several bridges are rebuilt. "In 20 years, Brush Creek Parkway will be known as one of the best linear parks in the country and one of the best economic generators ever built through a combined corps/park department/city project," Dopson says.   BLUE HILLS COMMUNITY SERVICES CORPORATION CELEBRATES 30TH ANNIVERSARY Blue Hills Community Services Corporation (BHCS) is observing its 30th anniversary this year. Formerly the Blue Hills Homes Corporation, it is one of Kansas City’s oldest community development corporations. Founding leaders of the Blue Hills Homes Corporation, Pete Cole (left) executive director from 1974-1998, and Fr. Norman Rotert (right), celebrate with Blue Hills Community Services Corporation (BHCS) board member Neal Colby, Jr., at a gathering this spring. BHCS was founded and initially operated by a team of volunteers led by Father Norman Rotert to respond to the social and economic challenges faced by residents of the Blue Hills Neighborhood along the Brush Creek Corridor. Since 1974, BHCS has successfully undertaken hundreds of community development programs and projects including youth programs, crime and drug prevention, and employment training. Today, the organization focuses on increasing housing opportunities in Kansas City urban core neighborhoods and improving the quality of education by administering the U.S. Department of Education program called Title V, Part A. In 30 years it has: completed more than 920 housing units, making it a leading producer of housing development; provided educational services to over 440 non-public schools statewide in Missouri; renovated 15 non-public schools in low-income neighborhoods to meet safety and disability standards; and owned and rented approximately 270 units of multi-family housing properties. These quality rental homes provide residents with an affordable option in urban core living. In conjunction with an internal assessment and evaluation of the organization’s major areas of expertise, BHCS began its 30th year with an updated marketing approach that reflects its rich heritage and its capacity to tackle today’s urban challenges. This year, BHCS is implementing a new strategic plan, introducing a new logo, a redesigned, comprehensive website, www.bhcsmo.org, and an updated brochure. In September, BHCS will host an anniversary event to pay tribute to the organization’s founders, commemorate 30 years of successful community development and celebrate its partnership with the community. PARTNER UPDATES Steve Newton, president and chief executive officer of Research Medical Center, has been named president of Baylor All Saints Medical Centers in Dallas-Fort Worth effective June 21. Newton has been head of the 545-bed Kansas City hospital since September 1998 after serving as its chief operating office for two and a half years. He was a member of the Brush Creek Community Partners Board of Directors. Julie Porter is the new program director for the Greater Kansas City Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). Formerly a Senior Program Officer at Greater Kansas City LISC, she has 20 years experience in administration, financial management and community development. Porter replaces Jim White who retired May 31 after 13 years with LISC. White was a member of the Brush Creek Community Partners Board of Directors. Mark McHenry, director of the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department, recently received the L.P. Cokingham Award from the local chapter of the American Society of Public Administration. He was recognized for leading the renovation of the Kansas City Zoo and the restoration of the Liberty Memorial when he was the department’s Deputy Director. McHenry is an ex-officio member of the Brush Creek Community Partners Board of Directors. The University of Missouri-Kansas City has announced the appointment of three interim deans: Ellen Suni has been named interim dean of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. Previously serving as Interim Associate Dean, she replaces Jeffrey Berman as interim dean, who served in this capacity for the last year. He will return to his long-term position of Associate Dean of the Law School. The search for a new dean will resume in August. Khosrow Sohraby is the interim dean of the School of Computing and Engineering at the University of Missouri-Kansas City for one year. Sohraby, a professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at UMKC replaces William Osborne, who has been named interim provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs. Sohraby joined UMKC as full professor in the Computer Science Telecommunication Program in 1994. He served as the interim director of the program prior to its merger with the Coordinated Engineering Program. Joan Dean is serving as interim dean of libraries. Dean has been with the university 29 years, during which time she has served as both co-director of the honors program in Arts and Sciences and Curators' Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of English. She assumes the duties previously carried out by Ted Sheldon, who has retired. Midwest Research Institute Chief Biological Scientist David Franz has been appointed to the National Needs for Research in Veterinary Science Committee of the National Academies of Science. The committee will define research needs in the veterinary science fields of public health and food safety, animal health and comparative medicine. Two Stowers Institute for Medical Research scientists have received national recognition for their work. Linheng Li, assistant investigator, has won the 2004 Hudson Prize, awarded by the Texas-based Hudson Institute for excellence in basic biomedical research. Li's current research focuses on "molecular mechanisms and genetic pathways that regulate adult stem cell development." according to the Stowers Institute. In addition, Li is renowned for a 2003 paper published in the journal Nature that resolved longtime scientific searches for the bone marrow stem cell niche. Olivier Pourquié, associate investigator, has been named the winner of the 2004 Harland Winfield Mossman Award in Developmental Biology by the American Association of Anatomists. The award honors a young investigator who has made important contributions to the field of developmental biology. The award recognizes Pourquié’s pioneering research in mechanisms regulating somitogenesis and the segmentation clock. His work has significant relevance to developmental disorders and human birth defects. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Stanford University and have developed an on-line resource called "Educators Corner" that is a comprehensive learning tool on science, engineering, and entrepreneurship. The website, funded by the Kauffman Foundation, provides an on-line way for engineering and business faculty around the world to share lectures, research, case studies, and course material. For more information, visit http://edcorner.stanford.edu/index.shtml. Saint Luke’s Health System recently received two national information technology recognitions. G. Richard Hastings, president and chief executive officer of the system and CEO of the Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City has received the 2004 CEO IT Achievement Award from Modern Healthcare magazine and the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society. The system has also been selected by IDG’s Computerworld as one of the top workplaces for information technology professionals for the third consecutive year, making it the only health care system in the country to be listed three times. Up to Date with Steve Kraske, the issues-oriented public affairs program on 89.3 FM KCUR, the radio voice of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, has been honored as the “Best Talk Radio Program” in Kansas City by the Kansas City Press Club, a chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Up to Date debuted Sept. 30, 2002. It airs weekdays from 11:00 a.m. to noon. Last September 23 it featured a program on the ten-year anniversary of the founding of Brush Creek Community Partners. LINDA HALL LIBRARY AQUIRES VERY RARE FIND The Linda Hall Library of Science Engineering & Technology recently received one of its rarest and most costly acquisitions to date, the 464-year-old Narratio Prima for $1.5 million. The book was written by Georg Joachim Rheticus. Rheticus was a disciple of Copernicus. An astronomer of the 16th century, Copernicus was the first to advance the theory that the sun, and not the earth, is at the center of the universe. His revelation literally turned inside out the “world view” of European scientific, religious and philosophical thought. Rheticus was so convinced of the validity of his master’s theories, he wrote his own book – a sneak preview of sorts to Copernicus’s book. Published in 1540, Rheticus’s Narratio Prima gave the world its first glimpse of his teacher’s revolutionary theory and convinced Copernicus to complete his own work, which was not published until 1543. A first edition of Rheticus’s book is far rarer than a first edition of Copernicus’s. Linda Hall Library, the world’s largest library specializing in science, engineering and technology, recently purchased a first edition of Narratio Prima from a book dealer in New York City.