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Residents urge backflow valves, canal dredging and home-repair grants; council members pledge follow-up
Summary
During public comment residents urged the council to prioritize backflow valves for waterfront homeowners, dredging of clogged canals, and revival or better communication about residential grant programs; councilmembers said staff will return with options during the budget process.
Three residents used the public comment period to press for neighborhood revitalization and homeowner support.
Bevah Stevenson Carey told the council her group is ready to help the city prepare grant applications for historic-preservation funding and offered pro bono consulting to pursue Florida Historic Preservation and CDBG opportunities. She also offered volunteers for cleanup work on targeted properties.
Jackie Phillips, a waterfront resident, urged the council to provide backflow valves for at-risk homes and said canals are in "desperate need" of dredging, describing low tides that strand boats and asserting the canals had not been dredged since the 1960s. "We are entitled to a safe and healthy environment," she said, and offered to share photographs with council staff.
Deanna Wilson asked whether the city still maintains a residential matching-grant program for homeowners doing renovations, saying she and her sister expected assistance for owner-occupied projects and found none; she requested follow-up and contact through city communications.
Councilmembers responded in the communications section: several said they want to pursue targeted micro-grant ideas (paint reimbursements, small repairs, backflow valves) during upcoming budget discussions, and discussed scheduling cleanup events and consulting environmental specialists for river work.
