PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The City of St. Pete is asking for your input on a huge plan to help the community recover from flood damage caused by hurricanes Helene and Idalia.
This comes after the city was awarded over $100 million to make resiliency improvements.
WATCH: City of St. Pete asks for input on $159 million resiliency plan
"My feeling of safety is what I miss," said Mike Burns, who lives in Shore Acres.
People who live in Shore Acres said that since Hurricane Helene, they have always been worried.
"It's been tough to get back. We are lucky to be back in our home, but a lot of people are not," said Jeanne Burns.
The area they once called a close-knit community is now a distant memory.
"The house over there is vacant. This neighborhood is only three people, three houses that are living here. It's kind of sad, really," said Jeanne Burns.
Jeanne and Mike Burns had flooding in their two homes in Shore Acres.
"We got 14 inches in our house. So basically had to get rid of our furniture and the flooding, and kind of had to start over," said Jeanne Burns.
"Shore Acres floods on a sunny day. That's gotta stop," said Kevin Batdorf, President of the Shore Acres Civic Association.
Improvements could soon happen.
St. Pete is one of two cities in Florida that were recently awarded $159 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The city stated that the money will be used for disaster relief, including programs to help elevate homes, assist residents in purchasing homes, and improve infrastructure to make the city more resilient.
"We have water in our streets today, yesterday, we will have it tomorrow," said Batdorf.
The plan also states that at least 70% of the funds will be used to assist low- to moderate-income households.
Batdorf said the hardest hit areas after Hurricanes Helene and Idalia were Shore Acres and Riviera Bay…and a lot of the funding should be used to help people in those areas.
"We need to get our homes after harm's way, so hopefully some of this money will come into this neighborhood to help people lift their homes or rebuild, but infrastructure is top priority," said Batdorf.
The city is allowing residents to comment on the draft plan through June 23. Jeanne Burns said that no matter what happens, solutions need to come quickly.
"I don't know what the answer is, but we have to just keep moving forward," said Burns.
Find the full plan below:
"We don't come home until they do."
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