HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — People in Palmetto Beach are concerned about the seawall's ability to hold up after two major hurricanes ripped through the region.
“The neighbors are very concerned, as everyone should be, about the condition of the seawall and what could happen if it failed,” Denise Reddick from 22nd Street Coffee Shop said.
Seawall concerns are not new to this community. It is an issue they have been asking the city to fix.
A project plan called Pathways to Palmetto is in place to give the neighborhood a facelift.
Fixing the seawall is a major part of that project, but city leaders originally said it would take five years to complete. Residents are hoping they can speed up the process.
Gina Fickarrotta lives across from the seawall in Palmetto Beach.
"They need to do something very quickly to get it rebuilt so that it doesn't cause more damage to the road," she said.
I asked the city about this, and they said the project is contingent on federal funding becoming available.
Officials added that they are working with the U.S. Department of Transportation to set up a grant agreement to begin implementation and are looking for more funding sources to improve the flooding and storm surge resilience in this community.
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
