Wednesday night on the Westside, a crowd of Arlington Street residents whose homes flooded two weeks ago gathered for a community meeting with officials from the city of Long Beach, Los Angeles County, Southern California Edison and other agencies.
The city marched out an impressive complement of city officials, including Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga, Mayor Bob Foster, Deputy City Manager Reggie Harrison, and various department heads. Officials gave residents assurances that the flooding issue that has plagued Arlington Street for more than two decades, most recently flooding out a dozen homes two weeks ago, will be handled. (See a photo gallery of the flood.)
"Failure is not an option," Uranga told the crowd.
But some residents noted they had heard such rhetoric before, such as in 2005, the last time the area flooded. While Director of Public Works Mike Conway blamed the flood on a drainage culvert owned by Southern California Edison that was blocked with debris, SCE hasn't admitted it is fully responsible and is still investigating the situation.
A city plan to double the capacity of the neighborhood's drainage systems is ready to go, Conway said. County officials have approved it and a right-of-way request to get access to SCE property has been submitted to the company. All that's needed now, he said, is a little cash -- an estimated $2 million.
That's the dilemma. Where does a cash-strapped city, that's already facing a budget deficit, considering cuts, layoffs and furloughs, find an extra $2 million?
Foster told me after the meeting that he's going to put all of his energy into finding the money, looking to funds from the federal stimulus package or combining forces with other area agencies such as SCE and the county. But despite the best of intentions, Foster admitted there's no guarantee the project will get done this year.
"I can't say, with a hundred percent certainty, yes," Foster said.
Until then, some of the residents noted, they may just have to rebuild their lives after a major rain every few years. The city is offering $5,000 rebates to the residents for home repairs and other aid. But for their immediate need, all they got out of Wednesday's meeting was some cookies. Oatmeal, maybe chocolate chip, I think.
Paul Eakins reports on Long Beach City Hall, and local and regional
politics. A newcomer to the Press-
Kris Hanson reports on the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles,
covering environmental issues, economic triumphs and
pitfalls and trade trends of America’s largest port.
He also writes a weekly column “On The Waterfront”,
appearing Tuesdays, and also produces an occassional video
and column titled “On The Job,” which follows the hard-working
men and women who keep Southern California’s economy humming.
Karen Robes Meeks came to work for the Press-
2/20/2009
As the Home Owners' President of Windward Village Mobile Home Park, I must speak out about the flooding problem. I was unable to go to the Wednesday meeting due to attending my college class.
Our park was also flooded to the point that one could ride a raft down the street. A few days later, I discovered that we only have two drains within the park, located at the south end. The only other drain is on the Southern California Edison property, also at the south end of the park.
This park is about 30 years old, which leads me to believe that the original development plan did not provide enough water drainage. The state has approved a plan for us to buy our individual lots, and become a resident owned park. I am concerned that the new HOA (not yet established) could be sued for damages caused by such flooding. Because we are a "gated community" and referred to as private property, the city constantly tells us that we are on our own. Since the city originally approved the park development, I believe the city should be responsible to resolve the flooding problem, and not wait for another flood to occur.
I would welcome any feedback from the city or other entity to get the flooding problem resolved.
Sincerely,
Allen Hose, HOA President
3595 Santa Fe Ave. Sp. #251
Long Beach, CA 90810