KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KMBC) -- Residents in Kansas City's Citadel neighborhood are still asking for help from the city after they say their basements have flooded with mud due to a nearby development since the beginning of August.
Carl Poke reached out to KMBC 9 several weeks ago asking for help in resolving the issue.
He says mud has caked the floors of his basement nearly every time it's rained for over two months.
It takes him at least three hours each time to pump it out.
The development is the 63rd and Prospect Master Plan.
It was approved in 2021 as a revitalization project for the east side.
It's led by Southpointe LLC, a partnership between real estate developers UrbanAmerica and CJR Development Partners.
Southpointe LLC Development Manager Marvin Lyman said he was unaware of the problem until Poke contacted him, but when he brought it to the city's attention, he learned city leaders already knew about it.
"This can has been kicked for over 27 years. A solution must be had," Lyman said.
A resolution that directed the City Manager to identify $15 million to address the issue was on the agenda for Monday's city finance committee meeting, but it was ultimately held due to prolonged discussions regarding the Royals stadium.
Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw, who is spearheading the resolution, said the city is taking the matter seriously.
"It is definitely a high priority, and I want them to know that it is not taken a backseat to the Royals," Parks-Shaw said.
Parks-Shaw added that the delay will allow the council more time to work out the details.
"It's going to be a tough decision for the council to address, you know, a $15 million investment in this project," Parks-Shaw said.
She hopes they're able to find a long-term solution that solves the root of the issue.
But Poke and his neighbor, Linda Bass, say their neighborhood and its issues came far before the stadium.
"If they got $600 million for a Royals stadium there, they simply could spend the money to take care of this problem," Poke said.
Lyman says the attention these residents and the east side deserve is far overdue.
"These are people who have raised families, who are raising families, grandchildren and such," Lyman said. "And so the city owes them a measure of good faith, a great measure of good faith, because they have shown good faith in staying here and being good citizens."
Parks-Shaw says the resolution has been rescheduled to appear on the agenda at the next council meeting on October 20th.
"I don't know if the mayor knows about this or not, but it's time for him to step up to the plate and hit his home run," Poke said.
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