We will be the first to admit that we do not understand all of the complicated mechanics behind flood control planning, so we do not know whether the city of Martin is best served by continuing with its redevelopment project as-is or charting a new course altogether.

However, we have learned a thing or two about human nature over the years, and one thing of which we are certain is that people who are clamoring for answers generally do not appreciate silence.

As Martin residents go about the work of trying to return to their daily lives in the wake of the worst flooding to hit that community in several years, there is a growing sentiment that the long and costly effort to raise the city’s downtown area out of the floodplain is too little, too late.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is in charge of the redevelopment effort, has been strangely silent in the month since the floodwaters receded. As a result, those wondering whether the project will truly save their town or whether additional measures are necessary are left with unanswered questions.

The Corps needs to make a concentrated effort to listen to the concerns of Martin residents, to take their questions and their suggestions to heart, and to explain not only the delays of the past, but also their plans for the future.

The people of Martin have seen a lot of hardship associated with flooding over the course of that town’s history, and they have been asked to tolerate quite a bit of inconvenience during the redevelopment project. They now need to know whether their sacrifices have been worthwhile.

That means that the Corps needs to listen to the many appeals for a floodwall or other corrective action in hopes of hastening the day when flooding is nothing but a memory for that community. If those options will not work, the Corps needs to explain why. If some of them will work, even if only as a stopgap until the full plan is in place, the Corps needs to let local residents know what is needed to make them happen. And if there is no alternative but the present course, the Corps needs to resell its plans for flood control to the people of Martin.

Listen to the people. Talk to the people. They deserve no less.