The Warrenton Board of Aldermen unanimously approved a request from residents of the Ashland Meadows subdivision to have preliminary engineering done to help resolve major flooding issues within the subdivision during their June 16 meeting

Ashland Meadows resident Grant Cordell made the presentation to the board, though several other residents of the subdivision also offered input during the meeting.

Cordell said he moved to the subdivision about two years ago. He said the subdivision experienced really heavy rains in late April and early May. He described the flooding as “the canals of ancient Babylon.”

During his presentation Cordell showed several videos of stormwater pooling and flowing through the subdivision.

Cordell said the amount of water is concerning to residents like him who have small children.

One of the residents said kids have used rafts to ride the water through the neighborhood.

He said that up to this point neighbors have tried to spend their own money to mitigate the problem but have not had any success.

He said one of the issues is that there are only two stormwater retention basins in the subdivisions, which are insufficient for the neighborhood.

Alderman Larry Corder asked whether or not the city might want to have a work session to discuss the issue in more detail.

Alderman Josh Chandler said the first step should be for the city to decide to solicit bids from an engineer to evaluate how much water the subdivision is dealing with and the city’s ability to take on the stormwater.

Mayor Eric Schleuter said there have been two different builders in Ashland Meadows and that the city has tried to deal with issues out there that did not work. Schleuter suggested though that this is a situation the city could get involved in to help. He said he would like to see the city consider engineering for the subdivision to determine how to resolve the issue.

A motion was then made for preliminary engineering for Ashland Meadows which was approved by a 6-0 vote.