Some heartbreaking but not surprising news was delivered to residents of Toyon Way this week as they learned the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will not be including their portion of the bluff in their erosion stabilization project.
Charles and Carole O’Donnell, formerly “flatland Texans” have lived on Toyon Way for 7 years.
O’Donnell: “Nobody said you’re going to have erosion. Did they tell you?
“No.”
Charles started taking yearly measurements five years ago and watched as 18 feet of his yard fell away. During Tuesday evening’s meeting, the O’Donnells and their neighbors heard that there’s no program or plan in place to help save their homes.
O’Donnell: “We have lost 61 feet since 1983 at the time that it was put in and everything was measured out to the end of the bluff.”
That’s a loss of 60% of the back yard.
City Manager Rick Koch said while he has compassion for the residents on Toyon Way, the City doesn’t have the resources to help them. It’s taken decades to get the Army Corps to move forward on the project near Old Town Kenai, where the federal government is more likely to recognize the financial, social, and historic value of the land.
Charles and Carole say they’ll spend their final years on Toyon Way, but the ‘dream home’ may prove to be a nightmare for the next generation.
O’Donnell: “But I have a cartoon of us hanging on my wall, it’s the one about the bluff and the father is saying to his son, ‘Gee, Son, all this will be yours one day… whatever’s left!'”
Despite the financial loss, the O’Donnells paid cash in full for their property, Charles said there have been dividends money can’t buy.
O’Donnell: “Oh we’d do it all over again. I would.
“We’d get a loan though, this time.
“We’d get a loan, though. We’d get a mortgage. Yeah.”