East Peoria residents who lost their homes during last year’s landslide want more help from the city. Peoria Public Radio’s Alex Rusciano reports four homes were declared uninhabitable after the flooding and rainfall in spring of 2013:
Josh Allen was one of the affected residents on Kaitlin Court. He says the city is ignoring the maintenance of the damaged areas:
“Broken, neglected, unmaintained drainage system in the neighborhood. Requests to see our neighborhood even repaired go ignored. I feel like we’ve had a deaf ear and a blind eye turned towards us. Honestly you guys have sat on your hands,” Allen says.
Allen says the lack of help stands in contrast to the city investment in the new downtown levee District. East Peoria Mayor Dave Mingus says it’s a misperception that the city’s storm-water system failed near the landslide area:
“Natural ravines run along the backyards of these four homes with their backyards sloping downward to the ravines. THese are not ravaines on city property or maintained by the city. THese ravines are on private property,” Mingus says.
Mingus and other councilmembers declined to go into great detail in response to resident concerns. That’s because the affected residents and other neighbors near the landslide filed a lawsuit seeking to make the city pay for all repairs so residents can return to to their homes.