BRUNSWICK — A small Missouri town in the Chariton County floodplain is a steady indicator of the spectrum of issues challenging rural communities.
In 2019, flooding affected the area and badly damaged its roads. The challenges to recovery are illustrated by the latest census, which reveals the same gradual population decline Brunswick has faced since 1950.
The diminishing size of the town — now with fewer than 800 residents — has caused its tax base to shrink. Meanwhile, its damaged roads are dependent on federal dollars.
But the changing demographics don’t leave much for the rest of the town, either. Multiple initiatives in the city are deserving of Brunswick’s limited funds, according to virtually anyone in town you ask. That long list includes not just roads but repairing the sewer system, keeping the community pool open and reviving the town’s now-absent police presence.
But which among those projects becomes a priority is the needle local leaders carefully thread.
‘Here, I can make a difference’
An April election brought new aldermen and a new mayor to Brunswick. It was the mayoral race that captivated residents and provoked thoughtful and productive discussion and debate.
The race was unusually crowded. It featured two candidates on the ballot: Joni DeWeese and Royce Young. A third candidate, Diane Rice, ran a write-in campaign and won the election, with 97 votes compared to DeWeese’s 50 and Young’s 46.
“I thought, ‘This is my time that I might be able to make a difference,’” Rice said. “I look at the news. And I feel so helpless because I can’t do anything about things that are going on away from here. But here, I can make a difference. And that’s what I want to do.”
Rice, who is a business owner and has children in Brunswick schools, also attended city council meetings for the last year and a half. She said these were among the qualifications that empowered her to run.
“I believe that city government first and foremost is here to take care of the city amenities, to make it comfortable and a good place to live,” she said.
Infrastructure issues
The mayoral election provided a window into the key issues facing Brunswick and many other rural Missouri communities.
Leading up to the election, the three mayoral candidates were interviewed by KOMU 8 News and the Columbia Missourian. Among the issues raised by all three were the city’s roads and sewer systems, both damaged by the 2019 floods.
“We’re still in the process of trying to figure out if we can get some FEMA help and support for that,” Rice said about the city’s streets. “It’s been a challenge, because typically, they require a lot of… verification of what the streets look like before the flood happened.”
She said that recently some federal and state money has been allocated to a levee feasibility study. The study isn’t a done deal, but it’s representative of the long process to address key problems.
Living in the Midwest, severe weather is not an abnormality. But the city’s proximity to the Grand River means the likelihood of flooding is a persistent burden.
There is a benefit to being a tight-knit community when bad things happen.
“I think in any disaster in a small community like this, we all come together,” said Young, a 25-year-old who works in sales and serves in the National Guard. “I remember with my little pickup and trailer, I was hauling sandbags there in the 2019 flood. It’s tremendous. You see the power of a small community when something needs to happen for the common good.”
Brunswick’s “common good” now, most would agree, is addressing the continued needs of its roads and sewer system.
“We had four lift stations that were flooded, or damaged, during the flood,” said DeWeese, the former city clerk. “So they had to be completely revamped. That was a costly venture.”
DeWeese also said she envisions a need for a full-time certified sewer operator.
But the city’s needs, infrastructure or not, must all fit within its approximately $620,000 annual budget.
Small town, big needs
Brunswick’s city budget only goes so far. But one solid commitment supported by the three candidates — and now the city’s mayor — is a full-time police officer.
The city used to have a single officer, who drove nearly 30 miles to work each day and eventually moved on from the job.
As mayor, Rice has begun recruiting an officer back to Brunswick. Applications for interested candidates were due at the end of May, according to a Facebook post from the city. Rice said she received a couple of applications.
“It’d be great if that officer could live in the city limits,” she said. “It would be something that really hasn’t been done prior to this.”
Many people in Brunswick view the officer vacancy as a need that must be filled, according to the candidates.
“Like all small towns, we have problems with drugs, and I feel like (that) presence is a deterrent to some of that,” DeWeese said.
Line items like the return of the town police officer must squeeze into the annual budget next to other priorities, like the community pool.
In the overall view of the city’s budget, the pool doesn’t drain heavily on its resources. It only receives an allocation of around $6,000 each year.
But the pool requires close to $15,000 to operate annually. A committee of volunteers is responsible for fundraising the difference, DeWeese said.
“It’s an important component to the community,” she said. “But we struggled with finances.”
The new term
Rice, elected in April, will serve a two-year term as mayor.
“In the end, for the city, the main thing is that we’ve got to provide the services that allow people to make their home and to be able to work here,” she said.
She also vowed to get “creative” using her financial management skills picked up through her years as a business owner. She also said she would seek knowledge from at least three of Brunswick’s past mayors who are still in the area.
“I think it’s a good example for my kids as they get older and make lives of their own,” she said. “It’s not always convenient. It’s not always about whether you think you have time. But if you see a need, and you see that you have the opportunity to help fill it, I think you need to try.”