EDGEWATER, Fla. — Edgewater residents have been calling for help from city council to address their flood-related concerns. 

But before the discussion even began about the flooding issue, members of the Edgewater City Council voted to fire City Manager Glenn Irby, saying he hasn’t done enough to address the flooding issues in the city.

What You Need To Know

  • Members of the Edgewater City Council voted Friday to fire City Manager Glenn Irby without cause due to his handling of flooding issues in the city

  • The decision was made during a special city council meeting being held to discuss flooding concerns

  • Concerned residents came in large numbers to the special meeting to voice their concerns and to hear what plans council members had in store to address the flooding issues

  • A week prior, the city of Edgewater received more than 7 inches of rain following a storm, which left various neighborhoods flooded

Friday's City Council meeting comes less than a week after dozens of Edgewater streets flooded following a storm that dumped more than 7 inches of rain in certain neighborhoods.

Meanwhile, residents poured into the City Council chambers to address their concerns during public comment and hear what plans members of the council had to address the growing problem.

It’s a problem that Edgewater resident Joshua Szymczak said will continue to happen if it isn't addressed.

“The water doesn’t displace," he said. "It’s been six days now and i still got a big puddle in front of my house. And you drive around this neighborhood and just look — everybody’s got it and they’re deep."

Szymczak said he and many others in his neighborhood are still dealing with the remnants of last Saturday’s storm with dozens of culverts filled with stormwater.

Many said they were worried about what could happen next time it rains.

“We’re creating a plan, we hear you," said Edgewater Mayor Diezel DePew. "I didn’t sleep at all on Saturday. I was up until 5 am. I see it, I went through it during Hurricane Ian."

Council members discussed a potential moratorium on new construction to get their codes up to date and assess the city’s building style. 

They said they believe this will help ease the strain of flooding for various neighborhoods.

Council member Gigi Bennington also informed residents that Florida Shores doesn’t have a stormwater management plan or a drainage system in place at the moment.

“We don’t have a strong water system in Florida Shores," Bennington  said. "It’s the city’s fault that you even have this problem right now."

The city has since responded to clarify that they do have a stormwater system and the details are viewable on their website. It consists of more than 4000 acres of drainage basin area.

Some residents say the meeting addresses long-term solutions and many insisted that what they need right now are short-term fixes to address the problem, beyond the distribution of sandbags.

DePew said the city is also outsourcing and looking to reach out to other local and state representatives to ask for their help to address these flooding concerns.