What Ellicott City needs

Preservation Maryland head Nicholas Redding writes of Ellicott City's economy and the flooding (“Ellicott City's economy depends on it's past — don't destroy it," Aug. 28). First of all, Ellicott City's economy is thriving, but Old Ellicott City's economy is destroyed already. Most property owners and businesses are not rebuilding or coming back because it is too dangerous and financially impossible.

After three floods in seven years, my family and I have cleaned up and rebuilt a total of six times. My home on West End and my business on Main Street have both been destroyed by each flood. Hope is gone and now reality has set in.

I welcome County Executive Allan Kittleman’s plan to enlarge the Hudson and Tiber tributaries and get rid of the major chokepoints that cause so much damage. Demolishing 14 buildings out of 300 or so between the business district and residential West End is a small price to pay to save lives. I would favor more. Since the 2011 flooding from Tropical Storm Lee, I have been volunteering hundreds of hours, first with our own group, "EC Flood Solutions” and then with the county’s "flood workgroup" and then the “community advisory group" to try to find solutions to the flooding.

I don't remember seeing Mr. Redding at any of these meetings. Perhaps he came down to help after each flood, but I can only assume from failure to mention the people's pain and suffering, financial ruin, and lives lost that perhaps the buildings are what he cares about most. The county's plans to make Old Ellicott City a more resilient place and save lives are what we residents and property owners need. If Mr Redding wants to preserve these few buildings, I would ask him to buy them. Then he can do what he wants, including cleaning and rebuilding them every two years.

We don't need Monday morning quarterbacks. We need to get people out harm’s way, stop the bleeding, build a more resilient community, stop further development in the watershed and then Old Ellicott City will have a much stronger and lasting economy in the future.