While the name of Rockford Beach Park will change, people will still be allowed to swim and wade there.
The Jefferson County Council voted 4-1 on March 11 to approve legislation that would change the name to Rockford Park and ban the use of alcohol and recreational marijuana at the park, 4320 Hwy. W, in House Springs.
Rockford Beach has been the site of drownings for several years because people tend to misjudge the strength of the current of the Big River there. Two people drowned in the river at the park in 2023.
Councilman Brian Haskins (District 1, High Ridge) had proposed an ordinance that also would have prohibited swimming and wading there.
However, Councilman Bob Tullock (District 7, House Springs) amended the bill to keep swimming and wading at the park.
“It’s been used like that for decades,” Tullock said. “I remember going there as a kid in the ’70s. There have been accidents, but they’ve been few and far between. I think we’d be passing legislation that would affect so many negatively in the other direction.”
Haskins said he questioned Tullock’s reasoning.
“How do you respond to a guy like that?” he said. “He says not everybody who’s been at Rockford Beach has drowned, so we shouldn’t do anything. We heard from first responders about how dangerous it is there, and what it’s like to respond to situations there. I don’t understand how anyone can hear that and then make an amendment that allows swimming and wading.
“I proposed this ordinance to limit the liability, not only of the county, but of our children and families who use Rockford Beach, protect everybody the best that I could.”
Tullock conceded that safety measures should be implemented at the park.
“Maybe we should get a park ranger out there again, especially on weekends,” he said. “I think people were a little bit better behaved when there was a ranger there.”
Tullock said an outright ban on swimming and wading would be problematic to enforce.
“We (the county) control the shore, but not the river itself,” he said. “I go out there from time to time and I see people going up on the cliffs (on the other side of the river off private property) and they’re jumping off. And what happens if someone comes down the river in a boat and wants to swim there?”
The council voted 5-2 on Feb. 26 to accept an amendment Councilwoman Lori Arons (District 3, Imperial) proposed to also prohibit recreational marijuana at the park. The original bill already called for alcohol to be prohibited.
“I think marijuana may be more dangerous than alcohol,” she said.
Tullock’s amendment to maintain swimming and wading then passed by an identical vote, with Haskins and Councilman Scott Seek (District 5, Festus) casting dissenting votes.
Haskins then walked out of that Feb. 26 meeting.
“You guys make me sick,” he said on the way out.
Haskins did not attend the March 11 meeting because he was out of town.
Seek cast the only no vote on March 11.
“I don’t think this goes far enough,” he said of the amended bill. “The currents make the place dangerous. You can’t swim next to Bagnall Dam at the Lake of the Ozarks because of the danger; you can’t swim in a lot of places because it’s dangerous.
“When the next person is held under by the current and dies, I voted no for this for that reason,” he said.
The ordinance also bans the use of model aircraft, drones and similar vehicles at River Bend Park in the Jefferson County portion of Eureka.
Parks and Recreation Director Tim Pigg said River Bend was dedicated as a park for radio-controlled vehicles in 2019 with the intention of clearing a large group of trees to create an open space to run the vehicles and fly drones.
However, Pigg said, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers informed him that because of the park’s location in protected wetlands, the trees could not be taken down.
Pigg said there is a general ban on using such devices in any county park, so the legislation the council is considering will remove the exception for River Bend Park.
However, he said, the 30-acre property is suitable for equine activities, so it will be added to the list of county parks welcoming horses that also includes the Big River Saddle Club in Dittmer and Beck Park in the Eureka area.
In addition to Tullock and Arons, council members Gene Barbagallo (District 2, Imperial) and Charles Groeteke (District 4, Barnhart) voted for the bill. seek voted against it, and Haskins and Dan Stallman (District 6, De Soto) were absent.
Groeteke said he would work with the county administration to develop alternatives to make Rockford Park safer.