Plans to construct a 20-stall RV park near the junction between Ninth Street and International Avenue in Missouri‘s Washington City were canceled following complaints from neighbors regarding the plans, as per a local report.
“After the (Nov. 1) workshop, we decided to take a step back and look at other locations,” said Jennifer Giesike, executive director of the Washington Area Chamber of Commerce.
She refused to reveal which other sites the chamber was considering for the RV campground.
Giesike stated that the chamber decided that a campground for RVs within Washington could be built with success on the city’s property at Ninth and International after reviewing the information about plans and information for RV parks within Moberly, Mexico, and Hermann. Earlier this year, city officials had proposed paying $200,000 out of $2.6 million that the city was awarded from the American Rescue Plan on the park.
“We feel like we’ve done the research and are ready to go,” Giesike said. “The location of it is our roadblock.”
However, residents from nearby neighborhoods showed up in massive numbers to the city council meeting to ask the council to derail the proposal and construct the RV park in a different location.
Many people attended the November 1 workshop and then had private meetings with chamber officials following the event. After these discussions, Giesike shared that the chamber decided to reconsider the location.
The chamber is here to support businesses and to help Washington grow. We want to do what is best for the community, not upset our neighbors and friends,” Giesike said.
Despite the setbacks, she and other officials said that they are determined to bring an RV park to their city.
Chamber members are “constantly getting phone calls about if there is a campground in our area,” Giesike stated, adding that the closest RV park is Pin Oak Creek Campground in Villa Ridge.
“We need to offer that lodging option,” she said. “The demand is there. The need is there.”
In the current proposal, each rental space will have electric, water, and sewer hookups. Bookings would be coordinated on the internet and prepaid. The 30-foot by 50-foot spaces are priced at $35 per night, and guests will be restricted to ten consecutive nights of stay. They will not be able to reserve a second spot in the camp without leaving for at least one night.