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Text Box: protection of area watercourses, such as neighborhood adoption of their creeks. An important stormwater program feature should be continual improvement. The city should routinely evaluate the program features and effectiveness and make improvements as needed and appropriate. Joe Wilson: Stormwater? If we left more trees on all of our hills and slopes, most runoff would be controlled in a natural way. We also need a long term look at area-wide drainage by level headed, knowledgeable people. Many promises were made after the floods of ‘93 and ‘95. To date, ten years later, little has been done. Pete Oetting: The problem involving stormwater run-off is difficult to answer. There are several solutions to it and I think it is a problem Jefferson City will have for many years due to the topography of Jefferson City. Erosion
and sediment control planning would help. For example, maybe better designed parking areas will help this problem, less asphalt covered parking lots, etc. This is a major problem that will need to looked at for some time to come. Social, economic, and technological considerations
all apply.
How can the city further encourage pedestrian safety and reduce traffic? Ron Medin: The question presupposes a connection between encouraging pedestrian safety and reducing traffic. I am not sure that is the case. I walk two miles to work at my office downtown whenever I get the chance but that isn’t practical for those people living further away from work or who might require a vehicle during the day. The continuing expansion of the greenway is great for recreation and I am a member of the steering committee

Text Box: the hoards of feral cats in Jefferson City and our county. (Continued on Next Page) Pete Oetting: I think Jefferson City's biggest environmental problem is storm water run-off and pollutants that enter the water system through storm water run-off. Water quality suffers when household chemicals, fertilizers,
pesticides, herbicides, and petroleum products enter the storm water system. I feel a conservation ethic could be fostered among citizens though public policies that prevent sediments from leaving construction sites, encourag- ing hazardous waste treatment facilities, in addition to
storage and disposal recommendations, etc.
How do you think the problem of stormwater run-off should be addressed? Ron Medin: I understand that the Environmental Quality Commission and others are already advocating a regional approach involving Cole County government as well as the City of Jefferson. Given the fact that watersheds don’t end at the city limits, that makes sense to me. Preserving those green spaces that currently accommodate run-off and backflow from rivers and tributaries also seems like it could be part of the equation. Jane Smith: I think that stormwater runoff should be addressed through educating the community about watersheds and how they can be impacted. I would also encourage the use of native plantings. Jim Penfold: I believe that the city has taken the major and appropriate first steps to address storm water runoff and associated problems. Jefferson City has adopted a storm water management plan that conforms to the federal and state requirements for municipal separate storm sewer systems (termed MS4s). The city’s program addresses the six mandated components and has received the required permit from the state to operate. The city is in the process of reviewing and considering a Stormwater/Floodplain Management Ordinance to fully implement and enable enforcement of the program. The city council needs to adopt a suitable ordinance and city administration must progress with implementation of the stormwater program. In my opinion, priority emphases of the city need to be control of construction-related and post-construction runoff and detection and elimination of illicit discharges to the storm sewers and creeks. Closely supporting these two emphases should be activities encouraging public awareness and

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