Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 2, 1995 TAG: 9507030084
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Residents who never saw a drop of water in their homes during the famous 1985 flood watched as much as 5 feet of water flow into their basements Thursday. It collapsed foundations, carried off backyard sheds and ruined property that insurance checks will not replace.
Garden City residents convened Saturday night next to a home ringed in debris from the flood to talk to city officials about immediate action.
Elsie Beer, 70, who has lived on Garden City Boulevard for 65 years, said ``'85 was nothing like this. I've never, ever seen anything like this here.''
How did a neighborhood that suffered so little from the flood of 1985 get hit so hard a decade later? Development and poor planning on Mill Mountain, say Garden City residents.
Director of Public Works Bill Clark stressed to the angry crowd that all the development on Mill Mountain was ``done to the letter of the law.''
But that answer did not wash with residents who believe a lack of adequate storm sewers caused flood water to flow into their homes from the front and into the creek that runs behind, causing it to rise to levels never before witnessed by longtime residents.
``They have a valid problem,'' Clark said.
He said there is a watershed plan that calls for widening the creek behind the affected homes and replacing two bridges to allow the water to flow properly, but the plan comes with a $6.5 million price tag. The bridges are 40 to 50 years old and were not made to carry the amount of water that the storm brought, according to Clark.
Kathy Wilson, whose basement filled with four and a half feet of water Thursday but only four inches in 1985, said: ``We can't wait till it goes through four elections and bond issues for $6 million. We need help now.''
Though Wilson and other residents said they have no malice for the homeowners on the mountain, they feel the creation of Mill Mountain Estates and Wellington subdivisions is the main cause of their problems today.
``The city displayed poor management,'' Wilson said. ``This area was sacrificed ...'' for that development.
Vice Mayor John S. Edwards told the crowd of about 30 people, ``We need to move forward on storm drainage ... make Garden City a priority.''
Edwards suggested money from capital improvement bond issues be used for flood control.
But with the next bond issue two or more years away, residents seemed doubtful anything would be done soon enough to prevent them from losing more property.
The flood lifted one house off its foundation and ripped bricks off the front.
The foundation under John and Gloria Hicks' home collapsed and their above-ground pool was destroyed, as were two of their cars - one of which was washed into the creek. John Hicks blamed the city for his losses.
``They [the city] need to fix what they messed up,'' John Hicks said.
One man said the house he recently purchased for about $31,000 has more than $32,000 in damage. A television repair business' inventory was scattered through several yards.
Stefanie Reynolds, who lives on Yellow Mountain Road, agreed with Wilson.
She said a river 8 feet wide and 3 feet deep ran through her front yard Thursday. It would not have been there if not for the recent development, she said.
``Water is a very powerful thing and it needs to be controlled,'' she said.
Reynolds praised Del. Vic Thomas, who she says has kept in contact with her since the flood and was also at the meeting. She said he told her Garden City has been declared a disaster area.
Margaret Corell said the mobile home next to her house was bobbing up and down in the water.
Corell spent part of the flood trapped in her car that stalled on Garden City Boulevard.
``I opened the [car] door and water just came rushing in,'' she said.
After abandoning the car, Corell came back later to see it had floated to the stoplight at the Riverland intersection.
``The car is totaled,'' she said.
Wilson, Corell's mother, said the nicest thing to happen to residents recently was the visit from Red Cross workers.
``They brought mops, brooms, disinfectant and refreshments when nobody else offered to help,'' she said.
This is not the end for the Garden City residents. The quiet residents who say they usually keep to themselves are getting to know each other, forming bonds and preparing for what they see as a fight to reclaim their property.
The group has called a meeting for 7 p.m. Thursday in the auditorium of Bible Baptist Church, 2929 Garden City Blvd. It will precede the City Council meeting Monday, where the group plans to ask city council members for immediate action.
by CNB