PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Resiliency projects in St. Pete are now in limbo, after funding cuts to federal agencies all over the country.
Now, the city will miss out on $33 million in FEMA funding.
"We did lose a golf cart and our motorcycle and our cars, and whatever else was on the ground," said Hank Brautigam, who lives in Shore Acres.
Hank and Sue Brautigam said Hurricane Helene hit their community hard.
WATCH: City of St. Pete looks for funding for resiliency projects amid federal agency cuts
"There's still a lot of people still not in the neighborhood, and you can tell by all of the for sale signs, and the next week after...their lives and homes were in their front yard," said Brautigam.
They've been hoping for some infrastructure projects to prevent flooding in their community going forward, but those hopes seem a little far-fetched right now.
"It's not good news that's for sure," said Brautigam.
The City of St. Pete requested $33 million in FEMA funding through the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program.
"Some of that would have gone towards fixing up a lift station over in shore acres, some of that would have gone towards purchasing aqua fences to be placed throughout the city just to build more resilient, stable communities," said Corey Givens Jr., City Council member.
Givens Jr. said the BRIC program was cut after the Trump administration made major funding cuts to federal agencies.
"That's a huge cut, and those funds could have prevented billions of dollars and people's lives from being uprooted," said Brautigam.
Givens Jr. said, despite the cuts, city council members are working to find funding from other sources.
"There's nothing political about that…these are quality of life issues that we are fighting for, and we need to make sure we continue fighting," he said.
Brautigam said his neighborhood floods easily, and he hopes the city will do what it can to protect properties.
"It's always possible that the right storm could come by and do more destruction and devastation than this one did, so we need to be more proactive," said Brautigam.
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