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<br />Slide KlS. Clean up in Estes Park <br /> <br />Clean up began almost immediately. The flood arrived just 3 days into the 3-month <br />long summer tourist season which produces 95% of the annual income for town <br />businesses. So, the town leaders were very anxious to get back in business quickly. <br /> <br />Slide K16. Redevelopment plan, Estes Park <br /> <br />After the town was cleaned up and most businesses operating, the townspeople set <br />about planning for reuse of part of the floodplain. This shows a plan for a riverside <br />park in an area occupied by a gas station, army surplus store and a motel before the <br />flood. The plan was adopted about 18 months after the flood. <br /> <br />Slide K17. Riverside park, Estes Park <br /> <br />This shows the finished riverside park during spring runoff. The park, complete with a <br />walkway, now extends along Fall River through Estes Park. <br /> <br />Slide K18. Redevelopment sign, Estes Park <br /> <br />In addition to the new park, which decreases the town's vulnerability to flood damage, <br />Estes Park took the opportunity to strengthen its sign code, add new sidewalks, benches <br />and street lights. The result is a more attractive central business district which is <br />friendlier to tourists and pedestrians. The district is also a financial success. In 1995, the <br />town's director of public works delivered a paper entitled, "Estes Park: From <br />Destruction to Economic Success." <br /> <br />Slide K19. Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin before the flood <br /> <br />Repeated flooding on the Kickapoo River led to an Army Corps of Engineers proposal <br />in 1970 for a $3.5 million levee to protect $1 million in floodplain property in Soldiers <br />Grove, Wisconsin. The town's share of the cost was estimated at $220,000 for <br />construction plus a $10,000 annual maintenance fee. With an annual budget of about <br />$14,000 a year, the village could not come up with the local share. Repeated flooding <br />had left the business district in a state of blight and, between 1975 and 1978, village <br />leaders embarked on a plan to relocate the downtown district to higher ground. They <br />hired an architect to plan a new business district and purchased a farm field on the edge <br />of town as a site; however, federal funds to finance the relocation were not approved. <br /> <br />Slide K20. 1978 flood at Soldiers Grove <br /> <br />Then, in 1978, a flood struck destroying much of the business district. Because the <br />community was unified behind its plan and ready for action, within week of the flood, <br />HUD awarded Soldiers Grove $1 million to start the relocation. <br /> <br />Script-Task K, page 4 <br />