By ANN PIERCEALL

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

HANNIBAL, Mo. -- Hannibal Parks and Recreation Department workers got a peek inside the Admiral Coontz Recreation Center Wednesday for the first time since floodwaters started rising in Hannibal last month.

The center was accessible by truck or on foot wearing waders. The building sits on a small rise above the surrounding parking lots, so the water has drained from it, leaving a thick coating of river mud and other debris throughout the structure.

Parks and Recreation Director Chris Atkinson said water is dropping quickly enough that he believes a work crew can begin cleanup today.

"We're going in (today) with power washing equipment and fire hoses. There's a half-inch to three-quarters-inch of mud in there. We're trying to get it washed out before it dries out and gets difficult to work with," Atkinson said. "Luckily the weather is (a little cool), so that it's not got too bad of a smell down there yet."

Atkinson said the plan is to clean up the mud and debris first, then the first of next week look at what it will take to make repairs.

He said the water line shows floodwater rose to between five and six feet in the recreation center.

About 90 percent of the building is made of stone walls, with concrete or tile floors. However, there is office space, an activity room and the local state drivers license testing facility, which all feature drywall that will need to be replaced.

Some of the center's electrical outlets were underwater, and Atkinson said mold is already visible in some spots. Cost for repairs is unknown.

"Until we get into the walls and see the damage, I honestly couldn't say it will be $2,000 or $10,000," he said.

Fortunately, there is no major equipment in the center that would need replacing. "It's basically walls and ceilings that'll need to be replaced," he said.

Hannibal's Emergency Management Director John Hark said while some limited cleanup efforts have started, Hannibal's riverfront beyond the floodwall will have to wait a few more days. He said the water is dropping, but slowly, only a few one-hundredths of an inch an hour.

"I'll take whatever I can get. We're going in the right direction. We're down to 23.5 feet," he said.

Hark said city officials will be implementing a cleanup plan for the river side of the floodwall -- and the floodwall itself -- once the water drops enough. He said some flooded streets are already seeing cleanup, and Warren Barrett Drive and Fourth Street have reopened.

Hark said after this weekend's National Tom Sawyer Days festivities are done, efforts will begin in full force.

"We'll probably start going into a full-fledged removal of things," he said.

That will include removal of the extensions built onto the levee and flood gates, as well as removal of the floodgates themselves. That will be followed by cleanup of Kiwanis and Nipper parks, Glascock's Landing and the riverboat and marina areas.

"It's going to be Monday before you'll see us doing a full-court thing to dismantle it all and put it away for the next time," Hark said.

-- apierceall@whig.com/(573) 221-5879