Residents and advocates demand meaningful action to address repeated neighborhood flooding

Okaloosa County, Florida – Local leaders and community activists are working together to solve long-standing flooding concerns in the Gap Creek area. This is a problem that has been affecting people in Sylvania Heights and adjacent areas for a long time.

Okaloosa County Board Chairman Trey Goodwin recently met with county officials and members of the Okaloosa County Branch of the NAACP to talk about what they might do to find a long-term solution.

County leaders said the conversation was helpful and that there are already a number of projects going on in the region to make things better. Still, Goodwin highlighted the importance of speeding up progress so that locals can receive real relief sooner rather than later. He said the idea is to make existing plans work better while still looking for ways to stop the flooding that has made life difficult for many families.

“This was a productive meeting with community leaders,” said Chairman Goodwin. “While we have multiple ongoing projects in the area to address these concerns, I am committed to moving the process forward more quickly so we can find solutions to improve this ongoing issue.”

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Community advocates made it clear that they plan to stay very involved as the process moves forward. Sabu Williams, president of the local NAACP branch, said the group will keep fighting for long-term solutions that really fix the situation.

“Our advocacy will persist until effective and lasting solutions are established,” said Sabu Williams, President of the Okaloosa Branch of the NAACP.

“We look forward to working with Commissioner Goodwin and all relevant agencies to ensure that the voices of Sylvania Heights are heard and that meaningful progress is made.”

In the next several weeks, there will be more discussions. County officials, NAACP leaders, and people of the neighborhood are all organizing more meetings to get feedback and learn more about what the community needs.

Officials said that talking directly to the people who are most affected will help them decide what to do next and how to stop more flooding in the area.