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Mound City goes to court to clear culvert blockage on Walnut Street

  • Writer: Roger Sims, Journal Staff
    Roger Sims, Journal Staff
  • Jun 7
  • 2 min read

MOUND CITY – As recent rains have created problems with ditches and drainage across the area, a Mound City man’s attempt to solve a problem with a creek in his backyard appears to have caused damage to surrounding properties. In an emergency hearing with more rain forecast, the Mound City Council took the case to court.


The Mound City Council on Tuesday, June 3, voted unanimously to present to David McGriff, 403 Walnut St., a cease-and-desist letter ordering him to undo work McGriff had done to block a city culvert and fill in the creek. The vote came after a five minute closed-door phone conference with City Attorney Mark Hagen.

Mayor Wade Doering told McGriff that his actions had caused flooding to neighboring houses and potential damage to the city’s street.


Earlier in the meeting McGriff told the council that he had taken matters into his own hands after the city did not fill in the creek as he requested in a council meeting two years ago.


Public works superintendent John Bruns said that he was unable to do what McGriff requested when he appeared before the council. Bruns noted that the request was to fill in a natural waterway and block a city culvert.


On Wednesday, June 4, the day after the council meeting, the city went to district court on the matter, according to City Clerk Shelby Murray. Following the hearing, city workers began undoing the work that McGriff had done, she said.


The council also discussed a proposed camp host position to manage camping at the city lake west of town. Mike Denman has been acting as camp host for several weeks on a volunteer basis, which in turn allows him to live in his recreational vehicle at the camp site.


Denman has access to the campground’s Firefly Reservation program so that he can manage reservations.


The council discussed providing Denman with cards to label campsites with rental information. Council members also discussed creating a job description for the host position.


In other business, the council:

  • Decided that Jayhawk Blast hours would move to later afternoon and evening, from 4 to 9:30 p.m. Prior discussions about the hours have indicated that previous Blasts that lasted the whole day had to deal with summer heat and low attendance during the day. The event is set for Saturday, Sept. 6.

  • Discussed building a pavilion and a holding tank at the city lake as items for the 2026 budget. Also discussed was building a pavilion at the city’s splash park.

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