At 40, Watershed Committee of the Ozarks envisions expanded HQ  

At the June 21 40th anniversary gala celebration for Watershed Committee of the Ozarks Inc., Executive Director Mike Kromrey unveiled a vision for an expanded and renovated committee headquarters. 

Kromrey used board members as what he called “people easels” to carry large-scale renderings of an updated Watershed Center through the crowd. The renderings were prepared by Springfield architecture firm Dake-Wells Architecture Inc. 

“Over the last several months, we have been in the process of envisioning our future,” he said. “We’ve spent 40 years protecting water. What does the next 40 years look like?” 

The headquarters, called the Watershed Center, is located at Valley Water Mill Park in north Springfield, located just north of Interstate 44 and west of U.S. Route 65. 

Kromrey said there are three components to the new plan: better accessibility for people engaged in the Watershed Committee’s mission, more room to accommodate people at the Watershed Center for fewer canceled field trips and more space for the Watershed Committee to do its work. 

“Honestly, we’re kind of crammed into our space now, to the point where it’s a little bit deleterious to our work,” he said. 

He called the expansion plan a dream. 

“We haven’t committed to this dream yet, but we want to know what you think about this dream,” he said. “Should we do Watershed 2?” 

The plans displayed included a second partnership building to accommodate a group with a similar mission; Kromrey gave the examples of the Nature Conservancy or the Missouri Department of Conservation. 

Kromrey also highlighted an accessible entry point to the wetland area so that people with mobility issues could get closer to the water. 

“That’s a really important thing,” he said. “We have to modify some of our field trips for those kiddos.” 

In an email interview today, Kromrey said the board and staff had engaged in a process with Dake-Wells to examine ways to leverage the Watershed Committee’s mission. 

“At this point, we have not yet committed to detailed drawings/engineering or a full-on capital campaign,” he said. “We want to share the concept with the community, partners, sponsors and potential funders to get feedback before we take the next step.” 

The plan would provide more accessible space, both indoors and outdoors, for education, he said, and it would also include offices for staff and partners. 

“The current office building is bursting at the seams, and space for partners would foster synergy and provide a revenue source for the ongoing operation and maintenance,” he said. 

He noted the organization has been raising money during its 40th anniversary year with an eye toward preparing for the next four decades. 

“The Watershed Center has been a tremendous success, so taking it to the next level is definitely something we needed to explore,” he said. 

Jason Hainline, an architect with Dake-Wells, said the design includes new finishes in the existing facility and new public restrooms, plus an addition of approximately 7,500 square feet that includes collaboration spaces for Watershed Committee staff and partners. 

He added that the outdoor gathering spaces and classrooms would focus on water quality landscapes to further the educational mission of the organization. 

A timeline has not been established for the proposed expansion. 

Marra Holt, communication coordinator for the Watershed Committee, said the organization has raised $540,000 in its 40th anniversary capacity building campaign through grant-seeking and private donations. 

The funds paid for architectural work that has been done so far, according to Kromrey. The goal for the year is $2 million. 

“With these funds, we’ve improved the watershed natives nursery site near Springfield’s yard waste recycling center so we can produce more plants and engage more people,” she wrote in an email. 

She added that the funds were also used to enhance accessibility at Fellows Lake with a self-launching dock for those with limited mobility, and to attain better equipment for the Watershed Conservation Corps so they can focus on improving habitats safely. 

The capacity building campaign is not a capital campaign, but it is helping the Watershed Committee realize the need for more space in the future, Holt said.