![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/vlcsnap-2025-10-23-17h14m45s944.png\")
<\/p>\nTAMPA, Fla. – The debate over Tampa\u2019s controversial South Howard Flood Relief Project deepened Thursday, as City Council voted to delay a key funding decision amid growing questions about cost, scope, and economic impact.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What we know:<\/p>\n
The proposal before council would have authorized $4.1 million in design-build services, replacing aging water mains and sewer lines, some more than 100 years old, as part of early work on the $65 million flood relief project.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The South Howard Flood Relief Project aims to reduce chronic flooding in one of Tampa\u2019s most flood-prone areas by rebuilding drainage systems with pipes up to five times larger than the current infrastructure and installing high-capacity box culverts along South Howard Avenue. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/vlcsnap-2025-10-23-17h14m59s557.png\")
<\/p>\n
But council members voted to delay the measure, citing concerns about overall funding and whether the city can afford to move forward.<\/p>\n
\u00a0“If we were to fully fund the South Howard project, there would be zero money left for any other flood projects in the city of Tampa,” said Council Chair Alan Clendenin, who proposed the delay. “It is going to take all the money.”<\/p>\n
\u00a0Supporters of the project, including families whose homes were flooded during last year\u2019s hurricanes, likely worry the delay is another setback in protecting their neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
OTHER NEWS: Progressive auto insurance to give back $1B to Florida policyholders<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0“The problem is under the streets and the only way to fix it is to dig it up,” said Tina Adams, a South Howard Flood Relief Project supporter. “It will be hard, but big problems require big solutions.”<\/p>\n \u00a0Another resident, Elizabeth Dinwiddie, urged the council to move forward prior to the vote.<\/p>\n “The fact that you will make this about money is very sad. It\u2019s just so sad,” she said.<\/p>\n What we don’t know:<\/p>\n Council members say they are still unclear whether the additional funding represents work already included in the $65 million plan or an expansion. It\u2019s also not yet confirmed which streets will be affected by the underground upgrades or whether alternative routes to South Howard will be considered during construction.<\/p>\n Businesses along South Howard have pushed back, warning that a full shutdown of the street could lead to closures.<\/p>\n Tampa\u2019s Chief Financial Officer, Dennis Rogero, attempted to reassure council members that the city\u2019s finances remain sound.<\/p>\n “We wouldn\u2019t allow city council to entertain a scenario where we run out of money,” Rogero said.<\/p>\n \u00a0Still, council members like Bill Carlson urged broader discussion before committing the city\u2019s full resources.<\/p>\n “The public deserves to have a discussion about what the highest priority is,” Carlson said.<\/p>\n \u00a0Others, including Councilman Luis Viera, voiced continued support for the project.<\/p>\n “I am still a hundred and ten percent supportive of this project and intend to see it through,” Viera said.<\/p>\n What’s next:<\/p>\n City Council plans to revisit the funding proposal in December after receiving additional financial and engineering details.<\/p>\n The Source: Information for this story came from the Tampa City Council meeting, public comments by residents and officials, including Chair Alan Clendenin, Council members Bill Carlson and Luis Viera and Tampa CFO Dennis Rogero.<\/p>\n South Tampa<\/a>Tampa<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. – The debate over Tampa\u2019s controversial South Howard Flood Relief Project deepened Thursday, as City Council…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17909,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[47,629,115,585,135,137,136,628],"class_list":{"0":"post-17908","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-fl","9":"tag-hillsborough","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-south-tampa","12":"tag-tampa","13":"tag-tampa-headlines","14":"tag-tampa-news","15":"tag-us"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17908\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/vlcsnap-2025-10-23-17h15m04s242.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/vlcsnap-2025-10-23-17h15m12s242.png\")
<\/p>\n