No seat was spared as dozens and dozens of concerned Richmond Hill residents lined up to see their elected officials inside City Hall for Tuesday’s City Council Workshop.
The first City Council workshop post-Tropical Storm Debby was understandably filled with individuals and families who were greatly affected by the floods following as a result of the August storm. Many wished to share their exasperations with what they perceived as inadequate storm preparation for Debby from the city government.
Eleven different speakers were slated to speak during the public comment section of the workshop meeting, but firstly, Richmond Hill Mayor Russ Carpenter read out his pre-planned remarks in an attempt to assuage common grievances.
“There is certainly no argument that August 2024 would not be fondly remembered in our city,” Mayor Russ Carpenter said, before continuing: “We must realize, though, that this storm was an act of nature and simply could not be prevented. There’s no drainage system, no policy and no plan which could have stopped us. We realize this isn’t going to make you feel better, but please understand this. We were fighting for you before the storm, during the storm, and will continue to as we rebuild our town,” Carpenter said.
Mayor Carpenter went on to catalog efforts from first responders, local churches and other organizations to help out residents affected by floods, citing sandbag delivery efforts and boat evacuations of those stuck in their homes.
Mayor Carpenter also reassured those in attendance that the city’s water is safe to drink and also cited the establishment of Richmond Hill’s Community House on Ford Avenue as a resource center for those needing supplies such as clothes and groceries.
“If you want to be proud of Richmond Hill, go by the community house,” Carpenter said.
Mayor Carpenter also touched upon the issue of drainage systems in an effort to address misinformation online.
“There is a tunnel which is on private property underneath I-95–That is not the cause of White Oak flooding, “ explained Mayor Carpenter. “Pumping the water before we did was also dangerous, as this could have caused flooding in other areas that were fortunately not in danger.”
Finally, Mayor Carpenter ended his remarks by saying that the city is working with FEMA to help assess damage to affected homes and property. For crisis cleanup, the Mayor cited CEDRC–the Coastal Empire Disaster Recovery Committee and encouraged those in need to call or visit their website.
The City of Richmond Hill will begin debris pickup on Thursday, said Carpenter, and the City will place water customers who are displaced on inactive status, and will waive inspection fees for electrical and construction needs.
Local resident Meredith Gibson went up first, sharing her story of filling up sandbags for her family and for her neighbors, and soon becoming a volunteer at the Community Center. Gibson gave thanks to city council leaders and related volunteers.
“We have served over 400 families. I have had over 400 volunteers come through there. And you know what I hear in that place? I hear praise,” said Gibson.
“I hear story after story, and yes, it’s sad, but when people walk in there, they are defeated. When they walk out of the resource center at the community house, they have hope. They feel like the city has got their back”, Gibson said.
Dr. Virginia Wickline–a Georgia Southern associate professor of psychology and White Oak resident–shared the distress from many of her neighbors and highlighted the drainage issues in her area.
“The culvert that is across the street from our entrance has never had flowing water. I’ve lived here six years,” said Wickline. “I have never once seen moving water in there until the pumps were installed on Friday, August 16 [which’] is the first time I’ve seen moving water in that area.”
“No one saw this particular combination of effects coming, but with [Tropical Storm] Debbie only dropping six inches instead of the 20 inches that was predicted, we at White Oak are bracing for the next storm,” Wickline concluded, pleading for stronger planning from the city.
More speakers followed with similar stories, with the next speaker Kristina Fredericks decrying drainage issues that she says had existed prior to Debby, citing Facebook photos showing sewage in her front yard on 180 Young Way–from as far back as May 2022.
“So let’s not talk FEMA. Let’s not talk GEMA...,” Fredericks said.” Let’s not talk about anybody. Let’s talk the city and me. Anyone right now can ride down the road, go visit my house, wave out the window and see sanitary items that are not so sanitary in my front yard that do not belong to me.”
The Mayor interjected to note that a manhole project for 180 Young Way conducted by Cartee Construction & Utilities at a cost of $166,295 was on the workshop agenda, but Fredericks continued: “I’m not here to talk price. I’m here to talk…human-to-human,” Fredericks said, before requesting help from the city to clean up her home and capping off with “Richmond Hill prices, third-world country living.”
Resolute residents
The eleven speakers on Tuesday night came from diverse backgrounds, but all were united in giving thanks to flood volunteers and wanting a stronger preparation plan for future storms.
Richmond Hill resident Cynthia Hatala, who suffered flooding twice in 1994 and in 2016 with Hurricane Matthew, said: “We seem to put band-aids on these issues, but they have not been totally corrected,” “Every time it rains, this fear will be with everyone that flooded.”
Debris collection
The City of Richmond Hill contractors will begin collecting debris in areas that were impacted by Tropical Storm Debby on Thursday, August 22nd, 2024.
Debris collection is only for storm related debris. The collection schedule and guidelines for allowable debris are available on the city’s website at: https://bit.ly/ DebbyDebrisRemoval The city asks for residents to be patient as crews work diligently to collect debris in all of the affected areas.