KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In a letter dated Tuesday, Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr. said the county is looking into "safe treatment methods" to control Tarsney Lake's aquatic vegetation and preserve its health.
White referenced short-term solutions such as aquatic spray and other approved fluid applications for the lake.
In addition to those strategies, White said they have also completed improvements to the lake's surrounding infrastructure, including work on the roads, the dam and the spillway.
"These efforts are part of our ongoing commitment to maintaining both the safety and quality of the area for all who live here and enjoy the lake," White said.
Sections of Tarsney Lake, a small lake in the unincorporated community of Tarsney Lakes just outside Grain Valley, are overrun with lily pads.
At KSHB 41's Let's Talk event in Grain Valley in early August, a viewer told anchor/reporter Taylor Hemness about the lake's lily pad problem.
The people who live near the lake told Hemness that they have been asking Jackson County for help for several years, but had trouble getting answers.
Legislator Sean Smith, who represents Tarsney Lakes in the Jackson County Legislature, blamed White for not directing the public works department to spend the money that's already been approved.
"Frank and his mid-level managers decide what work needs to be done," Smith told KSHB 41 in August. "And they don't prioritize things like this that have real-world impact on people."
Resident Debora Corn, who lives near the lake and serves as the president of Tarsney Lakes Citizens, Inc., estimates roughly 200-300 people live in the Tarsney Lakes community.
"When I was a kid, I used to swim at that lake all day long," Corn said.
Without the county's involvement, Corn predicted that the lake would silt in and become like a "mud puddle."
The lake was covered under a partnership with the Missouri Department of Conservation, which handled maintenance of the lake.
However, Tarsney Lake is not covered anymore and the circumstances surrounding the end of the partnership are unclear.
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