Community pushes back against Fisher Park flood mitigation project

[Ocala Gazette/2023]

The city of Ocala is seeking to solve the flooding problem at Fisher Park by expanding its retention pond, but neighbors are calling the construction project a “destruction” project instead.

The flood mitigation project plans include adding two new lift stations and expanding the existing retention pond, but the pond itself will be expanded to cover the majority of the park, including the baseball diamond and open field area of the park, located at 900 SE 22^nd St.

Resident Calley Jo Smith said many in the neighborhood first found out about the project at a neighborhood meeting on Nov. 27, just one day before construction began. The city awarded a bid for the construction at its city council meeting on Nov. 7, but Smith said she and many of her neighbors had no idea it was happening, otherwise they would have expressed their opinions sooner.

On the day that construction began, neighbors addressed their complaints to a city council member, and construction was immediately ceased. The city is holding another neighborhood meeting to update residents on the project this evening at 5:30 p.m. at St. John’s Lutheran School, 1915 SE Lake Weir Ave.

“That was all our driving force behind buying our houses when we all saw our homes,’’ Smith said. “It’s game over when you see a beautiful park in front of you, and for all that to be gone, it’s just devastating.”

Smith, a mother of three children who play in the park, created a petition on change.org 10 days ago, and since then 460 people have signed in protest of the park project.

“It effectively will eliminate a field and ballpark that has been a part of this community for 50 years. This field is used daily by the residents around Fisher Park. Birthday parties, family picnics, all kinds of sport practices, riding bikes and nearby schools’ recesses happen weekly at this park,” said Smith in the petition.

“A critical aspect of this meeting is to listen to citizen input, discuss options that will reduce the impact of flooding and retain valued recreational amenities that make the Fisher Park neighborhood special,” according to a city press release.

Smith said flooding is a rare occasion in the neighborhood, however. She has lived in her home for 11 years and said they can recall flooding only happening about twice a year.

In a letter addressed to a resident, City Manager Pete Lee said about 60 homes in the neighborhood are located in a flood hazard area. When the project is complete, 35 of those homes will be removed from the flood area. Houses in the flood area are required to have flood insurance with federally backed mortgages, Lee wrote.

Lee wrote that the city applied for a flood migration grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), so a large portion of the project must be completed in accordance with state and federal guidelines.

“Regarding the project design, we are required to substantially follow the final design approved by the state. As for the decreasing Fisher Park footprint, we are actively searching for additional open space nearby,” Lee wrote.

Lee also wrote that although the Nov. 27 meeting was announced two weeks earlier in a press release, the meeting should have happened “much earlier” and gave “little time to consider or discuss potential impacts on the neighborhood.”

Other areas of the park will be preserved regardless of the construction, such as the basketball and racquetball courts. The playground equipment, which was donated by Junior League, will also be kept.

“The decision to expand the drainage retention pond in the open park area was made by the engineering staff to save the existing “built” park amenities,” according to the city in the letter from Lee.

Smith said she hopes the meeting gives her more clarity on the future of the park and helps preserve the place where her kids love to play.

“We need other options other than taking out all the green space,’’ she said. “You know, there’s got to be other things we can do.”