SPANISH LAKE, Mo. – Residents in a Spanish Lake neighborhood say they’ve been left on their own to deal with a terrible stormwater flooding problem. Things have gotten so bad that it’s made people prisoners in their own homes.
Homeowners tell FOX 2 that officials have come out to see the problem for themselves, but they’re no closer to a resolution.
“It floods the driveway; it floods the bridge; it floods the front yard. It floods everything. We’re stuck inside,” said homeowner Whitney McClendon-Gregory. “The longest is probably about five days.”
She’s been doing everything she can to get help.
“I think it’s St. Louis County. It’s MSD. It’s a number of people who have to come together collectively to fix this problem. It’s not enough of us over here for people to care,” McClendon-Gregory said. “…we just getting the runaround.”
About a half-dozen neighbors have the same issue.
“My taxes keep going up, concerns keep getting expressed, and it doesn’t seem like we’re a high priority,” Stephen Holt said. “We’re a very small, close-knit neighborhood. The taxes go up, but the questions keep getting unanswered.”
It’s a problem that’s been going on for decades in the private development, yet no one in government has figured out a solution.
“I’ve tried to see if we could come to some type of solution for them, and that solution doesn’t involve the county. This is not a county issue,” said St. Louis County Council Chairwoman Shalonda Webb.
“We tried bringing all stakeholders to the table from the (Missouri) Department of Transportation, MSD, even had engagement with the county executive to say how we can help this community, and the bottom line is that this is a private property issue.
“We’ve even talked with MSD and talked to them about creating a neighborhood improvement district, so they can find a way to address this issue, so it’s up to the residents of that community to decide what they want to do!”
She says the residents will more than likely have to set up a taxing district that they will fund themselves to fix the problem.
Certainly not what many here want to hear.
