Residents of Mount Hope, Shelltown and Southcrest urge stormwater fixes, rec center funding after January floods

Multiple residents from Mount Hope, Shelltown and Southcrest recounted severe damage from the January atmospheric-river storms and pressed the council to prioritize stormwater infrastructure, neighborhood rec centers and capital projects for historically underserved areas.

"Our neighborhoods looked apocalyptic," Anna Ramirez of Shelltown said, describing chest-high floodwaters in homes on Jan. 22. Speakers including Juan Cruz, Elena Franco and Valhan Hartouni asked the council to accelerate projects such as the Dennis V. Allen Park rec center, alley paving, creek cleanouts and a general development plan for a Southcrest Regional Complex.

"We need equity in our community just like everybody else has in their community," Juan Cruz said, urging a state-of-the-art rec center with green infrastructure elements and better communication from Parks and Recreation on project timelines. Residents said deferred maintenance, clogged creeks and limited capital investments left neighborhoods exposed to repeated flooding and post-storm recovery burdens.

Advocates also linked infrastructure needs to other budget priorities: speakers asked the council to restore the Climate Equity Fund to support community projects and recommended reallocating some proposed spending away from higher-level management positions and toward visible neighborhood repairs.

Councilmembers responded that the May revise and upcoming committee meetings provide a chance to address many of these requests; no immediate funding decisions were made at the hearing.