Residents press Eureka officials for data on flood wall after disputed land sale allegation

Dozens of residents and two property owners told the Eureka City Council they are worried a proposed flood wall and related drainage work will push water onto their land, reduce property values and restrict access — and one owner alleged a recent sale of his land was carried out without authorization.

Jeff Fillers, who identified himself as co-owner of Veil Hybrid Real Estate, told the council his company owns 16.33 acres in Eureka and said "mister Worm, has been indicted for fraudulent activities, including selling property to the city, without authorization of myself." Jane Thomas, who said she is the person Mr. Worm represented, also told the council she "did not sign those documents." Both asked the city to review the transactions and get back to them.

The concerns came during the meeting’s public‑comment period after a resident, who said they had collected "over 50 signatures," asked the administration for transparency and an explanation of whether neighborhoods would face increased flood risk if the wall is built. The resident cited a nearby 15‑foot wall by the Circle K and said neighbors were "scared" and wanted facts.

A city official responding at the meeting said multiple legal parties and a receiver are involved in the ownership dispute and that the council cannot resolve contested private‑sale issues in the meeting, but offered to have staff follow up. On the engineering questions, the official and staff described graphics comparing mapped 100‑year flood extents with and without the proposed wall, explained that a detention area and pump station in Old Town are designed to hold and equalize flows rather than release them faster, and said the work is being reviewed through the FEMA process.

"We are gonna give the entire file. It's public. It's going to FEMA anyway," the official said, and added staff would produce readable summaries rather than only raw technical files. The official also said the city's flood engineer — work produced by consultant Horner and Shiffrin and the city's engineer who has designed nearby levee projects — concluded that the studies do not show a net negative effect on the properties raised by speakers.

Residents asked for a follow up and expressed frustration that prior email and office attempts to obtain information had not yielded clear answers. Property owners reported an earlier purchaser withdrew a $2.2 million offer, and said an earlier appraisal fell from $1.8 million to about $1.0 million after flood concerns emerged.

The council did not take formal action on the contested sale at the meeting; staff committed to provide the compiled maps and data and to follow up with the property owners and their counsel.

The council returned to its regular agenda after the presentation and indicated staff would leave the graphics available and remain after the meeting to answer additional questions.