HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The general public who filed into the cafeteria of Pierce Center Faculty for a Tuesday night assembly introduced with them a fear about future hurricanes, they usually need Hillsborough County to do extra to calm these fears.
Gerald Mullins is a type of folks.
“Put it this fashion, once I was within the U.S. Air Power, if I had executed my job like they’re doing their job, guess the place I’d been? I’d have been in jail,” he mentioned.
Mullins thinks his property on Thatcher Ave. in Egypt Lake-Leto flooded throughout final 12 months’s storms as a result of close by canals and ditches have been overgrown with shrugs or clogged with trash.
“If they might clear the canals, there would by no means be an issue,” he mentioned.
It’s essential suggestions as a result of proper now, Hillsborough County is finding out what went incorrect throughout Hurricanes Helene and Milton and what drainage issues ought to be fastened.
Within the Tuesday assembly, Commissioner Harry Cohen and different county leaders heard instantly from folks like Mullins who stay in and across the Egypt Lake-Leto/City ‘N’ Nation space.
Seven future conferences will study what went incorrect in different neighborhoods throughout Hillsborough County.
“In some, it was pump stations and turbines. In others, it could have been preventative upkeep,” Cohen mentioned. “The one method that you would be able to make clever spending selections is to prioritize based mostly on what the wants are.”
WATCH: City ‘N’ Nation owners urge county to make drainage fixes earlier than future storms
City ‘N’ Nation owners urge county to make drainage fixes earlier than future storms
As soon as the necessity is thought, Cohen mentioned Hillsborough County can seemingly use federal funds and its Neighborhood Funding Tax to begin tackling the issues.
However that seemingly gained’t occur in a single day.
“We’ve had some folks from the county telling us that enchancment is perhaps coming, however not ‘til like 2028. We are able to’t wait that lengthy,” mentioned Russell Habel, who lives in City ‘N’ Nation.
He and Partho Roy need quicker fixes as a result of they mentioned their neighborhood is susceptible till change occurs.
“We have to clear out these drainage canals, culverts, and get these pumps working, and in the event you want extra money within the price range, put extra money within the price range for our district,” Roy mentioned.
In response to Cohen, the examine will likely be full and introduced to county commissioners in June.
Here’s a checklist of the remaining seven conferences the place you can provide your enter:
- 6:30 p.m. April 22 — Riverview Public Library, 9951 Balm Riverview Rd., Riverview, FL 33569
- 6 p.m. April 23 — Carrollwood Cultural Middle, 4537 Lowell Rd., Tampa, FL 33618
- 5:30 p.m. April 29 — Plant Metropolis Excessive Faculty cafeteria, 1 Raider Pl., Plant Metropolis, FL 33563
- 6:30 p.m. Might 7 — Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library, 3910 S. Manhattan Ave., Tampa, FL 33611
- 6 p.m. Might 12 — College Space Neighborhood Growth Company, Inc., 14013 N. twenty second St., Tampa, FL 33613
- 5:30 p.m. Might 15 — Jimmie B. Keel Regional Public Library, 2902 W. Bearss Ave., Tampa, FL 33618
- 6 p.m. Might 19 — Lennard Excessive Faculty, 2342 E. Shell Level Rd., Ruskin, FL 33570
Residents may also present enter just about from April 15 to Might 19 at HCFL.gov/HCengage.