Altoona officials heard an outpouring of distress Tuesday about flooding, especially from residents of the Brush Run area between the boulevards in Pleasant Valley.

It was the first of two public meetings on how the city should spend its $39 million from the American Rescue Plan.

At one point, Joyce Smyser of the 900 block of 10th Street paused for several seconds so she wouldn’t cry, after telling City Council members and City Manager Omar Strohm that Brush Run during periods of high rain is “now a river instead of a creek.”

“It rains now, and I cringe,” said Debbie Kelly of the 1000 block of Valley View Boulevard, one of eight residents who talked about the flooding between the boulevards. That flooding has become more frequent and increasingly severe — damaging yards, basement fixtures and furniture, leaving mold within walls and shrinking property values. “I can’t take much more,” Kelly said.

A significant share of the money should go for flood mitigation, council members said afterward.

“It’s pretty obvious that it’s an overwhelming concern,” said Councilman Jesse Ickes.

“Heart-wrenching ac­­­counts,” said Councilman Dave Butterbaugh. “We certainly need to use a portion of the money to fix the issues we heard about.”

Sewer infrastructure is one of several explicitly eligible uses, according to Strohm.

Hazard mitigation buyouts followed by house demolitions for some of the most flood-prone properties may make the most sense, according to two of the 14 residents who spoke — among about 40 in attendance.

Ickes, Butterbaugh and Councilman Bruce Kelley agreed with that, although it’s not certain the ARP would allow for those buyouts, officials said.

It might be better to check out the possibility of obtaining separate — and traditional — Federal Emergency Management Agency funding for those, so the ARP money could go for other needs.

But that would require a disaster declaration, which wasn’t forthcoming after the June 19 severe flooding.

That day, the water at her house was 3 or 4 feet deep on the front, side and back, which frightened her daughter, who uses a wheelchair and was therefore “stuck,” Debbie Kelly said.

For Cathy Tellish of the 1300 block of South Jaggard Street, June 10 was largely a reprise of a 2018 flood, when sewer water came up through drains and traveled through vents in her house, causing $20,000 in damage.

Drywall needed to be replaced up to 18 inches above the floor.

After that 2018 flood, she installed a backflow valve, but it gave way in the recent flood, she said.

Since then, she’s been living with a sewer-tainted interior, plastic sheets on the floor, because cleaning contractors have been too busy to get to her house.

Last week, when it began to rain, she sat on her couch with her two dogs in fear of the worst.

“Just horrible,” she said.

Intensity rising

Flooding along Brush Run is nothing new, but the intensity is, according to residents.

Gary Evans of Adams Avenue has lived in between the boulevards for 26 years, and the June 10 storm was the worst he’s seen.

“There’s definitely a change in the weather structure,” said Ickes.

Changes in drainage patterns due to construction projects in recent years may also be part of it, Evans said.

“The problem is up the hill,” said John Mashensic of the 800 block of South 15th Street, who’s been flooded eight times in

19 years.

He meant both hills — toward Brush Mountain to the east and toward the heart of the city to the west, he clarified.

“This weather pattern is not going to change,” Mashensic said. “It’s trying to get tons of water into a 2-pound sack.”

Other residents complained of flooding in other areas — and about the situation getting worse in those areas, too.

Amanda Harlow lives on the 1100 block of 21st Avenue, in a dip, where high water destroyed 10 cars and flooded basements to the ceiling.

Such flooding hadn’t happened before, even when it rained hard, she said. “I’m not sure what changed.”

Lonnie Hrzic lives several blocks away on the 1300 block of 23rd Avenue, not far from the old Oakton reservoir.

She asked city officials for help controlling water from a large pipe that discharges onto the street and runs over an uncurbed embankment down a wooded hill onto her property.

That issue is getting worse for her, she said.

Tony Biddle owns property on the 400 block of Seventh Avenue, where flooding occurred from sewer water rising in drains.

It’s in an area where storm and sanitary effluent runs together in the same pipes.

Maybe it’s time to separate those functions, Biddle said.

Separating the combined sewers in the city would be enormously expensive, officials have said.

Other ideas expressed

Not everyone spoke of flooding Tuesday.

The city should use the ARP money to extend the walking and hiking trail that Antis Township is constructing to the city limits through the city, so the trail could ultimately connect with trails in the Hollidaysburg and Williamsburg areas, said Dave Woleslagle.

City officials should reach out to residents to offer help, especially to those who are poor, to people of color and to small entrepreneurs, said Harriett Gaston.

In addition to investments in sewer infrastructure, the ARP money can be used to offset negative economic impacts caused by COVID-19; to replace lost public sector revenues, provided the money goes for established government services; to invest in water and broadband infrastructure; and to provide premium pay for essential workers, according to Strohm.

The money may not be used to bolster pension funds; pay down debt service; pay off legal settlements or judgments; boost financial reserves; or for infrastructure other than water, sewer and broadband.

The city is already considering stormwater upgrades in numerous areas; partial “reconstitution” of the city workforce, which shrunk at the beginning of the year, partly in expectation of revenue losses; improvements in broadband infrastructure; grants or loans for businesses damaged by COVID-19; and improvements in cyber security, according to Strohm.

Mirror Staff Writer

William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.