Felisha Overstreet is on a mission to help her ailing mother, on dialysis, solve a backyard problem she’s been fighting to fix for nearly two decades.
Overstreet grew up in this home but the backyard is unrecognizable -- instead looking more like a jungle, weeds measuring almost 6 feet in length.
"There’s water that has just run off and it has nowhere to flow so it flows right there and its stagnant," said Overstreet.
The problem stems back to a water drainage mishap that the family says began in the year 2000 after a condo complex was built just behind their home and a nearby quarry was developed into a lake.
"Every time it rained, we could sell tickets for a cruise ship back there," said homeowner, Dana Overstreet.
Slowly, their property became unusable, with the families pulling back on inviting friends over for BBQs, picnics and birthday parties.
The water brought unsightly weeds, while the weeds, they say brought a mosquito infestation, along with unwanted animals like raccons and possums.
The family says they’ve gotten nowhere when asking the city to make a fix.
"They’re talking about who’s fault is it and where is the money going to come from to get this resolved? Well-- it shouldn’t come from our pocket no more," said Overstreet.
After getting involved, the city said they had been discussing how handle the problem, given financial constraints but agreed to regularly treat the area with larvacide pellets to stop the mosquitos in the short term and committed to...
“Soliciting proposals from... Professionals to assess the sources of the water creating the drainage problem... And ultimately what may be needed to correct [it]”
7 Action News will follow the developments.
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