Comments on: Flood Plan:Escambia County Looks To Purchase, Demolish Bristol Park Homes

By: Mark McMillen

Mark McMillen — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 17:20:11 +0000

We lived in Bristol Park when the first flood hit in 1998. We moved 2 years later. It has flooded several times since then. The creek simply can’t contain the amount of water that these major storms produce and it has nothing to do with the paper mill. The amount of development in the area is a major problem.

By: Jackie

Jackie — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 21:26:08 +0000

People must consider what is at the headwaters of Elevenmile Creek – a huge paper mill with acres and acres of exposed ponds. IP knows that with about a 2″ rainfall, their effluent exceeds 50 million gallons a day. This is 20 millions gallons of water more than the amount they normally discharge. This is just with a 2″ rainfall. Just imagine a 10″ rainfall or in the case of April 2014, a 26″ rainfall. It is unfortunate that the developer built in the flood plain, but with IP’s exposed ponds sitting at the headwaters, it is a disaster waiting to happen.

By: Marcia A. Moreland

Marcia A. Moreland — Mon, 12 Dec 2016 01:28:27 +0000

And the current Hwy 97 Project is adding to drainage problems so does the county have any truly comprehensive plan for decreased flooding/increased drainage as new developments continue to be approvd?

By: Susan Sheets

Susan Sheets — Mon, 12 Dec 2016 01:11:50 +0000

Our county commissioner, Steven Barry, assured me that they would not purchase homes that had been rebuilt, they would only buy properties that had not been remodeled. I discussed this issue with him a week ago and he said they would rewrite the FEMA grant to purchase property in the back of the homes on the creek so they could widen and clean the creek out. He said it does not make sense to him to purchase only a few homes (only 11 homeowners have tentatively accepted the appraised price between Ashbury Hills and Bristol Park). So what has changed?? Why is the county trying to proceed with tearing only a few homes down? Because they have the money from a FEMA grant and it is the easy thing to do? But they need to ask themselves, is it the right thing to do? Will only tearing a few homes down solve the flooding issues?

Since a number of homeowners said they would not sell for the “appraised” price, it does not make sense to tear a home down, have a couple left standing, tear another home down, etc. I am not an engineer but how does this help the flooding issues in our neighborhood to do this? What needs to be done is the county needs to fix the holding ponds in the area and clean/widen the creek so that it can accommodate the water that is diverted to it from all the building going on in our area.

It DOES NOT make sense to tear down $250,000+ homes that have been rebuilt. I have lived on the creek for 21 years and my house has only flooded once and it was during one of the worst rain storms Pensacola has ever seen. Why would the county think it would make sense to tear my house down? Other neighborhoods and parts of the county flooded that night as well. Why not tear down the businesses on Palafox Street since they flooded? Because it doesn’t make sense! Fix the drainage problem, don’t tear down our houses!!

The property values have already suffered in Bristol Park. Who will want to come into our area and purchase a home if they see the county tearing down random homes.

The “appraised value” of our homes wasn’t adequate for us. I can’t speak for everyone, but we did not have adequate flood insurance because we never envisioned having 5′ of water in our home in this area. We had to pay over $100,000 out of pocket to remodel our home. Now the county wants to give us $120,000 less than what it would cost us to rebuild the home. Plus we would have to pay moving costs out of pocket and closing costs on a new home.

This just doesn’t make sense. If the county would just fix the drainage issues, we would be fine. Don’t waste taxpayers money tearing down beautiful homes

By: Karen

Karen — Sat, 10 Dec 2016 19:09:33 +0000

To Well: it is someone’s fault. The county for allowing the developer to plan so poorly and Todd Sweitzer, the developer for doing such a piss poor job of planning and then neglecting the retention ponds as well as the county again for letting him get away with it. The creek flooded thanks to the release of water from the paper mill for the second time and there has been no action taken against them. Now the home owners are paying for everyone else’s screw ups.

By: Resident

Resident — Sat, 10 Dec 2016 00:03:49 +0000

In the early 90’s when this neighborhood was developed before Cantonment grew so rapidly creating runoff, this was not a flood plain. Now it is because the county didn’t do urban developing plans to accommodate for the runoff created by all the building permits issued. Now the county wants to buy there way out with tax payers money, for me, 92$ a SQFT is not enough to be able to rebuild what I have and what I’ve worked for elsewhere.

By: Well

Well — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 13:08:54 +0000

Always someones fault.
Never the fact that it rained far more than anything could handle.

By: randy

randy — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 12:55:53 +0000

Why did the country let the houses be built in the first place. ? Now the taxpayer loses again

By: john

john — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 12:32:52 +0000

Just goes to show you that a property developer(s) you can’t trust. Do your own investigating before you buy property. They will build anywhere, I remember a story years ago…I think it happened in Georgia, when several hundred homes were built on a closed landfill, and shortly thereafter the residents started getting sick and the houses started to sink, and goo started leaching out of the ground.

By: BG

BG — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 03:11:50 +0000

Hay Mark …You are right…….BUT they will