NSC City Council members address flood recovery concerns at special meeting

SIOUX CITY, Iowa ( KCAU ) — Patience is certainly needed as tensions ran high at the special meeting of the North Sioux City City Council on Wednesday evening.

Homeowners vented and shared their frustrations, while city officials are working to address the concerns.

One topic of the discussion included who exactly is responsible for filling in washed-out property surrounding many homes.

Without dirt and rock, many homeowners cannot access their properties and salvage what they can.

Additionally, one idea that was suggested was paying those whose homes were swept away when the temporary levee diverted water into McCook Lake, or are red-tagged.

The property could be used to build a permanent channel to prevent houses from being destroyed again, the way they were on Northshore Drive and Pensrose.

“What is going to happen to the property later? Our house is red-tagged, we can’t go in. I was talking with everyone else out here, we have 15 feet of dirt, we need rock to get in there to even be able to shore up the house. Is there anything the city can do to help us get that in there and give a shot at saving our home.”

Getting federal help to those who lost their homes in the flood in the form of FEMA funding, was also part of the discussion at the meeting. Along with improvements to the Emergency Management Communication System, including apps to better alert residents.

As for the flood plan at McCook Lake, Councilmember Gary Bogenrief says he hasn’t liked it since 2011, when it was developed.

McCook Lake residents are being asked to turn in damage assessment forms no later than July 12th so the city is prepared when FEMA visits a few days later.

Several residents asked how that is even possible since they still have not been able to get to their homes. Council members said that concern and many others will be addressed with state officials on Thursday.

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