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Harvey Dupree, a retired farmer, lives on property near Rosecrans Memorial Airport and is a board member for the Airport Levee. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wants to raise levees 3 feet at a cost of $36 million.

Local governments started wrangling Wednesday about their portion of the bill for financing $36 million in Missouri River levee repairs.

The city of St. Joseph, Buchanan County and the three area levee districts will have to pay $12.6 million as their portion for design and construction, said Bruce Woody, St. Joseph’s director of public works and transportation.

To re-certify the levees, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wants to raise the Airport and Elwood-Gladden levees 3 feet above the 100-year Missouri River flood level.

Any increase in height means the South St. Joseph Levee also has to be increased, Mr. Woody said.

The levee work is recommended by the corps in a feasibility study. The five groups had to pay 50 percent of the study cost, which came to $900,000.

They only have to pay 35 percent of the $36 million for design and construction, Mr. Woody said. Without the repairs, it’s estimated that the Airport and Elwood-Gladden levees have only a 51 percent chance of holding back a 100-year flood, Mr. Woody said.

Another flood could put the presence of the Air Guard in jeopardy at Rosecrans Memorial Airport, said Mike Hurst, airport manager.

But one of the problems is that the Air Guard doesn’t pay any of the cost, said Harvey Dupree, an Airport Levee representative. The total $36 million cost represents about half the amount the Missouri Air National Guard generates each year at Rosecrans, Mr. Hurst said.

Mr. Woody suggested two ways to pay. One would be based on the length of the levees and the other would be based on the acreage.

Everybody’s going to have to pay their way but neither of those options is acceptable, said Joel Euler, an attorney representing the Elwood-Gladden Levee District.

For the feasibility study, the city paid 28 percent, Elwood-Gladden 12 percent, the county 9.5 percent and the other two levee districts paid a quarter of a percent.

When the corps would complete repairs remains a question.

After the 1993 flood, it took 14 years to complete the feasibility study. Once the various agencies decide how much they are going to pay, it will take two more years to design the improvements. Then it will take another three years to construct.

And the congressional delegation will have to ensure that the corps’ share of the money, $23.3 million, is earmarked in the appropriate legislation each year, Mr. Woody said. Any delays will add additional costs, he said.

Marshall White can be reached

at marshall@npgco.com.