Nearly a dozen dumpsters line driveways along N. Viola Street in Appleton where residents say both storm water and sewage poured into their homes during Friday's flash flooding. PC: Fox 11 Online
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Residents of Appleton’s N. Viola Street are continuing to search for relief after brutal flooding wreaked havoc on their properties earlier this month.
Individual meetings for homeowners to talk with Alderperson Chris Croatt were initially scheduled for Wednesday — however, they were all canceled.
“So, we won’t be able to speak to our alderman or any elected officials today, which is deeply disappointing,” said Rachel Peterson, a resident who has been leading the charge for her neighborhood to find out what kind of relief they can receive.
Peterson organized a community meeting with the hope of bringing in city leaders. However, that doesn’t appear likely.
A statement from city staff read:
Recently, the City of Appleton was notified by one or more residents of potential pending litigation. At the advice of the City’s outside counsel, we are unable to offer specific comments regarding the recent flooding other than the City continues its own review of the events. As such, Alderperson Croatt and City of Appleton officials must cancel the appointments at this time. We cannot offer further comment on this matter at this time.
“What we’re looking for from the city is not payment to replace all of the treasures and the memories and the stuff. While that is tragic and it’s very sad to lose the amount of things that our community has lost, what we’re looking for is payment to make our homes functional again,” said Peterson.
Peterson and other neighbors claim the city is responsible for what happened. The city has said there is no evidence of any blockage in the city’s storm water system, and put the blame on the sheer amount of rain that fell in such a short time.
Peterson says a lawsuit has not been filed, but is still on the table. In a social media update Tuesday, the city of Appleton said it’s continuing to look for assistance for direct funding to help those impacted by the flooding.
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