Archer Park has seen more than its share of floodwaters.

The Prestonsburg tourist attraction has a body of water flowing through its middle, which contributes to high waters at least once every year. However, the amount of flooding the park has seen in recent years has pushed officials over the edge.

“What we have is another flood,” said Prestonsburg mayor Les Stapleton. “It impacts our tourism, it impacts our economy, it impacts happiness, quality of life.”

In December, the park flooded causing city officials to pull the plug on the annual Christmas lights display for several days. Crews cleaned up the mess and moved forward. Now, less than two months later, flooding has once again left crews working to clean up the park.

“This time of year there’s a lot of things we need to be doing other than cleaning up flood mud,” said Prestonsburg Parks and Recreations Director Richie Schoolcraft. “So, we’re getting behind in other areas.”

City workers and the fire department work together to clean up the area each time the waters rise. But the impact of the reoccurring high waters is something the city can not ignore.

“We have one building that we’re losing because of the flood,” Schoolcraft said. “It keeps eroding the ground underneath the building. Just washing it out.”

That building has been closed and deemed unsafe, so the city has approved rebuilding the structure in a different spot. That project is expected to cost $70,000.

According to Stapleton, the use of those funds for the project is unfortunate for the city since the flooding created the problem. He said fixing the flooding issue is the first step in helping the city avoid costly repairs like this down the line.

Stapleton said the city should reroute the current body of water that runs through the park, making it a straight line that veers past the park instead of through. A process that would require a lot of work and outside cooperation.

“Environmental people obviously are going to have to deal with it. Division of Water, Corps of Engineers. And there’s just so many different steps along the way,” Stapleton said. “I’m going to try to bring them all to the table at one time so we can actually get a gameplan of what we’re gonna have to do.”

He said once the water is rerouted, the park area could be lifted 40 feet to be level with the pool area, further avoiding water collection.

“It’s gonna have an impact, the likes of which people really won’t realize,” Stapleton said.

Stapleton hopes to present his idea to state and local leaders soon to see movement for the city’s beloved attraction.