EDGEWATER, Fla. — In the first-ever town hall meeting hosted by Edgewater’s mayor and city manager, residents shared their concerns about the ongoing flooding issues.

What You Need To Know

  • Some residents say nothing has been done to fix the issues

  • City officials share there are short- and long-term plans

Flooding remains an issue for many communities and that has never been more prevalent than now as we head toward the end of a pretty unprecedented hurricane season.

During Monday night’s townhall, officials said that they wanted to give residents an opportunity to share their concerns without having to limit them on time.

It was learned that the city’s stormwater master plan has not been updated since 2014 and interim city manager Jeff Thurman as well as Mayor Diezel DePew got to hear from residents in the community just how much of an issue those outdated systems are.

The meeting resulted in a few short-term solutions including distilling and regrading swales but long term, officials say the plan would be to revamp the decade-old stormwater master plan, identify and address areas most vulnerable and in need of the most funding.

“I’m excited by the feedback, the input, I look forward to more. Maybe it’s on a different topic but for stormwater, and to be able to listen and have dialogue. In a city council meeting, you can’t have that dialogue. We’re able to interact with citizens and you can’t put a price tag on that,” said Thurman.

Some of those residents say they feel like they’ve been in this place before though, sharing these same concerns and nothing has been done.

One resident said officials need to actually do something with the issue.

“Unfortunately, I’ve been to a lot of meetings and this has been going on for such a long time and I do appreciate the new blood wanting to do things differently but it feels like every meeting is a plan to plan to make a plan and nothing’s actually happening,” said resident Mandi Bullard.

Officials are hoping to start seeing results regarding those vulnerable areas by March 2025 with a final updated stormwater master plan due by Dec. 19, 2025.

Two hearings have been scheduled for a building moratorium, the first is expected to be held on Dec. 02, 2024, followed by another hearing in the new year.