Hundreds of Harvey residents have signed a petition in an effort to block a flood control project that would uproot some homeowners.
The online and paper petitions have so far been signed by some 400 people and demand the city and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District look at options, according to Ryan Sinwelski, who lives near the pond site and is a member of the Harvey Plan Commission.
Called the Central Park Stormwater Detention Basin Project, it’s intended to ease flooding and protect 209 buildings in Harvey and cost about $9.8 million, according to the MWRD, which is working on the project with the city.
Properties in the area of Myrtle Avenue and 153rd Street would be acquired through eminent domain for the detention pond. The MWRD said of 31 properties being acquired, 15 are occupied and the rest are vacant.
Sinwelski said no cutoff date for signing the petition has been set, and said it will be directed “to anybody who has any authority to do anything about this.”
Carlita Poole-Tingle is among affected homeowners, along with her sister and father, all of whom live in the path of the basin.
She said she is working with MWRD to schedule an appraisal for her home on Myrtle, and at some point after that she would receive an offer for the property.
“It looks like it’s going full speed ahead” she said of the property acquisition process.
Poole-Tingle said that “just because we’re saying we agree to have the appraisal done doesn’t mean we are for it.”
“We don’t want this,” she said. “We do want to save our homes.”
Sinwelski said he has suggested cheaper alternatives such as providing homeowners affected by flooding with money to make plumbing modifications, such as check valves and overhead sewer lines, to prevent sewage backups.
“They’re not listening to the taxpayers, they’re not listening to the property owners,” he said.
The district is seeking funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help pay for the project.
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At a recent meeting in Harvey that included MWRD officials, Kari Steele, the district’s president, said the district would investigate alternatives and listen to residents.
However, an MWRD engineer told residents that the planned site for the basin is the most ideal location, with the proper elevation, near other drainage pipes and central to the area where they seek to alleviate flooding.
Residents were told FEMA has already approved site plans and that changes could jeopardize federal money.
Harvey’s administration maintained Monday that, despite objections from residents, the planned location is best suited to the project’s goals.
Harvey Ald. Colby Chapman said she tried to delay the project by having a City Council committee review it, but at a Sept. 25 meeting the council did not advance her motion.
She said legal action could be a possibility, but could be costly “and there is no certain outcome with that.”
Poole-Tingle said as petitions are being circulated, a lot of residents want to add their names even though they’re not directly affected or even know about the project.
“There are a lot of people who are not aware of what’s going on,” she said. “We’re hoping it changes something.”