Johnny Mariakakis keeps a binder filled with newspaper clippings and photos of floods around the line of businesses at his Mariakakis Plaza. Having been at Eastgate facing 15-501 for decades, he’s seen plenty of floods — but never anything like last July’s Tropical Storm Chantal. He said he remembers begging firefighters that night to not smash in his window, despite being inside with water up to his waist.
Because of these experiences, Mariakakis is acutely aware of how quickly water rises behind his building, even with the town’s construction of a basin park a few years ago.
“It’s going to flood again,” he said. “And again.”…