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Residents press Carmel leaders for stormwater fixes and a secondary school access route; city schedules engineering meeting
Summary
Residents from multiple neighborhoods asked the Carmel City Council to address chronic flooding behind Carmel Elementary and decouple drainage repairs from a proposed road extension; the council scheduled a publicly noticed engineering presentation for July 14 and a neighborhood meeting on July 7 to gather data and resident questions.
Several Carmel residents told the City Council on June 15 that persistent stormwater problems tied to school‑area grading have caused flooded backyards, rotten outbuildings and safety concerns for children at Carmel Elementary. "No resident could replace stormwater infrastructure or redesign failing roads," Ally Missler said, adding, "I will not stop asking for solutions." (Missler, public commenter)
Chris Caden said water collects in his backyard after the elementary school and its parking lot were graded, and some neighbors have experienced basement flooding; he urged the city to consider French drains to route water away from homes. Carrie Gonzalez, of Concord Village, told the council her neighborhood opposes extending Richmond Avenue through their cul‑de‑sacs and asked the council to separate drainage fixes from any road‑building plan.
John Shapiro, who said he was speaking as a Carmel resident, framed the problem as a two‑part issue: emergency access for Carmel Elementary and infrastructure that has not kept pace with rapid city growth. "In the event of a large‑scale emergency, getting people in and out and first responders in will be a serious problem," Shapiro said.
Council members and staff described two follow‑up meetings to collect facts and resident concerns. Councilors agreed an engineering‑led, publicly noticed session will present data about the scope of drainage problems and possible technical fixes; the council set an engineering presentation at the Carmel Clay Library on July 14 and a neighborhood meeting for July 7 to gather resident questions and to help engineers prepare. A councilor said the engineering presentation will include the city engineer's findings on how big the problem is and what can or should be done.
Council members emphasized that hearings and listening sessions alone will not solve the problem: several councilors asked for engineering analyses and cost estimates before endorsing construction projects or funding requests. President Snyder and others noted a long history of proposals for the neighborhood, including prior planning conversations, and one councilor recited an earlier engineering estimate as the basis for a $20 million planning figure—an estimate city staff said came from prior engineering conversations.
Next steps: the July 7 meeting will gather resident concerns and the July 14 publicly noticed session will include engineering staff presenting data and potential solutions. The council agreed to coordinate notices and technical materials so the engineering team can respond with concrete options at the July 14 meeting.
