No new solutions for Jake Gaither flooding; neighbors remain concerned
Jan 17, 2025
A new report on Jake Gaither flooding highlights consultants' feedback. It says there's likely not a solution for frequent flooding in this neighborhood. The city says it has already spent more than $14 million on projects to help with flood issues there. Watch the video to learn more about the alternatives they've looked into and why neighbors say more needs to be done.BROADCAST TRANSCRIPTI'm Terry Gilliam your Southwest Tallahassee neighborhood reporter.A new report from the city says there may not be any options to stop flooding thats been happening in the Jake Gaither Community for years."Engineers who have degrees that say they're engineers say that water is backing up in the Jake Gaither neighborhood and they can't get it to flow out."Willie Whiting Jr. is the neighborhood President in Jake Gaither. Thursday, he gathered with other concerned neighbors. They talked about next steps after hearing there may be no end in sight to stop the flooding.Video from April shows just how bad things got during that flood last year.A month later, city leaders toured the area for a firsthand look at the damage. While that was a start to understanding the problem, Whiting say more needs to be done."It's got to be more than meeting and talking. What we want; what I think the mayor and city commissioners should do is assure this neighborhood that they're doing something, that they're going to fix the problem. "Following concerns from the community, the city of Tallahassee brought in engineering consultants. They looked at ways to help minimize the flood issues. That was on top of the $14 million documents show the city had already spent in this neighborhood. The documents prepared for the city commission's retreat show the city looked at three possible options: expanding the North portion of Silver Lake at a cost of $1.7 million; dredging and expanding to include most of Silver Lake Park; and expanding low-lying portions of the Jake Gaither golf course. That would cost an estimated $20 million to $32.5 million. According to their report, none of the options offered meaningful reductions of flooding. While the city says there may be no other options neighbors want more to be done."No, we're not going to accept that this is the end. This is not the end."As it relates to that flood event in April, the reports says the citys previous storm water infrastructure improvements kept more than 50 homes from flooding. In Southwest Tallahassee, Terry Gilliam, ABC27.