Villadom Times Weekly Newpaper Online-September 21, 2011 Issue

Ridgewood September 21, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 9 Village still working out hurricane recovery plans by John Koster The Ridgewood Village Council listened to complaints and praise from residents at last week’s public meeting while discussing the recovery from Hurricane Irene, which once again flooded the ground floor of Ridgewood Village Hall and submerged several artificial turf fields that now require special cleaning and remediation. “I’m sorry to keep saying we’ll do the best we can, but that’s really all I can say at this time,” Ridgewood Mayor Keith Killion said at the public session. Residents from the area along Ho-KoKus Brook, perhaps the largest contingent in the audience, said that flood conditions there had become progressively worse ever since Tropical Storm Floyd in 1999. They asked that the brook have obstructions removed, and that a clogged ditch that is supposed to provide drainage be cleared immediately. Some residents reported that they had four feet of water in their basements during and after the flood, and one woman thanked the emergency services personnel for coming to her rescue. However, the residents were not satisfied with the drainage situation as it stands at present. “Even in three inches of rain, we will have our back yards full of water,” said Karen Walsh. “We have to have some sort of solution to dredge out the two areas near Burnside Place,” said Paul Smith, who said the HoHo-Kus Brook is full of rocks and debris. “What is the reluctance to talk to the DEP about this?...I had a canyon in my back yard. It would be good if people came out to look at this mess.” “I can’t tell you how helpless we felt,” said one man whose toilet backed up into his house. “Water is one thing, but raw sewage is another.” He said the damage was estimated at $13,000 and, while he is insured, his daughter’s college tuition would be impacted in the interim between reconstruction and collecting the insurance. Susan Schreiber, who wanted a drainage ditch cleared as soon as possible, said the ditch was designed to keep her property and her neighbors’ properties flood-free, but had never done its job, even when it was unobstructed. “We’re not just talking about Irene,” she said. “We’re talking about taking water every time there is rain.” “We know we’re in a flood zone -- we don’t know what the turf has done,” Mayor Killian said. Turf fields at Ridgewood High School and at Maple Park had been seen by some observers as contributing to runoff already made torrential by asphalt paving and roofs. The fields also submerged and must now specially cleaned. A neighbor of the high school field said the contractors started work much too early in the mornings and that dust blown up in the aftermath of the turf cleaning, possibly contaminated by unsanitary runoff, was making him and his family miserable and might be endangering their health. As part of the meeting’s consent agenda, the council approved $29,600 to Dakota �� “A DAY ON THE FARM” HAYRIDES �� BEST NURSERY �� Excavating Contractor of Hackensack for the cleaning of the Maple Park turf field. Resident Boyd Loving noted that sports groups had donated the money for the turf field and said it would be nice if they donated the money for the cleanup. Many residents had praised artificial turf as a solution to grass field damage due to excessive use, but many others had argued that, besides causing injuries of athletes, the artificial turf would contribute to drainage problems because, unlike grass, the plastic doesn’t absorb rain water or keep the soil beneath permeable. “If there’s someone out there to help us out, that would certainly be appreciated,” Loving said. He praised the Ridgewood Soccer Association and Councilwoman Bernadette Walsh for taking part in the cleanup at Veterans Field, which was submerged and substantially littered by Irene. Resident Roger Wiegand praised the council for holding the line on expenses. Ridgewood had called in Insurance Restoration Specialists, a firm from Monroe Township, to cope with the flooding that once again washed over the first floor of Ridgewood Village Hall, and had accepted a bid price of $95,000. A council resolution to pay $105,000, based on a change order, was rejected at the council meeting and the original $95,000 was the amount approved, “I’d like to compliment the council for holding the line on that appropriation on the $95,000 for cleaning up village hall,” Wiegand said. “As Councilman (Thomas) Riche said, a bid is a bid,” Mayor Killion said as he thanked Wiegand for the compliment. Several other residents deplored the loss of the Senior Center and the Youth Center, formerly in operation on the first floor of Ridgewood Village Hall, and asked for help in relocating activities. ��