Cemetery Creek Flooding

Context

A longtime volunteer caretaker (captioned Mr. Walker) urged the committee on September 9, 2026 to fix repeated flooding of a creek behind a cemetery where graves, including those in the section historically used for Black burials, have washed out and where new houses have flooded. A 36-inch pipe carries the creek under private land (a daycare, parking lot and two residential lots), and he asked the city to daylight it. Staff replied that the creek is not in a mapped flood plain (FEMA maps) and the land is private, so opening it would mean purchasing property and paying from stormwater funds; the cemetery's own back-side channel is already open. Details come from auto-captions.

Status

No action; council would have to direct staff to investigate purchasing the property.

Log

• 2026-09-09 - Public Services Committee - Caretaker appealed for action; staff explained the creek is not a mapped flood plain and daylighting would need property purchases; committee took no action.