PALM COAST, Fla. — During Tuesday’s meeting, the Palm Coast City Council approved the creation of a drainage advisory council. The committee, which will be composed of residents of varying backgrounds, aims to address flooding issues across the city.

Officially titled the Residential Drainage Citizen Advisory Committee, the group will be tasked with advising the officials on possible solutions to a variety of drainage and mitigation issues.

City staff say the members, which will be ultimately be chosen by the city council, could range from concerned citizens, people with construction backgrounds or residents who have faced flooding themselves.

James Lea, one Palm Coast resident, hopes they will take a trip to his neighborhood to check things out for themselves.

“They need to come out here and see it, smell it, and understand,” said Lea.

Lea says a local pumping station in his area has posed issues for some residents.

“Virtually every time that it rains, the sewers here, the manhole covers, have raw sewage coming out of them,” said Lea. “If I were in the market to buy a house, I would look somewhere else.”

New home builds and development were a focus for some residents at Tuesday’s city council meeting. Some residents blame developments for some of the flooding and drainage issues they’re now facing.

The meeting was nearly full of residents, however, the primary concern for most was a proposal to increase utility rates.

Nothing has been finalized yet, however city council accepted a plan to increase capital fees. If approved at a meeting next month, capital facility fees for water would increase by 8.93% in May of this year, and capital fees for wastewater would increase by 12.49%.