Irene Has Expensive Tastes: Up To $600K Projected In Village Damages

The , the storm many believe symbolizes poor planning and a lack of foresight that led to the construction of a brand new Village Hall in the flood plain, at a cost of over $9 million.

The mayor and council are staying true to that statement after watching countless gallons of sewage and storm render Village Hall a lagoon during Irene, the latest storm. The message? No new sheet rock, it's a bad way of doing business.

Village Manager Ken Gabbert updated the council on the cost of Irene Wednesday night at its work session. The village took immediate action after the storm and entered into a contract with a cleaning company to clear Village Hall of water and dry wall, which contained mold. The contract is not to exceed $95,000, but it represents just a fraction of the total projected costs. The village manager estimates a total of $600,000 in damages related to Irene.

Gabbert reported that the village lost two police cars; a loader; a computer system, pumps and an infiltration system at the water treatment plant; called in private tree companies; need various infrastructure repairs; and of course, will have to pay overtime hours that will be significant.

How much will FEMA pay out?

"We have had estimates and our total cost in our claim to FEMA will approach the $600,000 mark," Gabbert said to the council. "That's just an estimate at this point but when everything comes in we'll have a full FEMA claim put together." Village Hall's cleanup is still estimated to be about $200,000, Gabbert said after the meeting.

Unfortunately, Gabbert said, it's highly unlikely the FEMA money will be doled out before the end of 2011 and the emergency appropriations would have to be paid off 2012's budget, which will be a strain next year. He added that the village would be fortunate if FEMA paid out 70 to 75 percent of the total claim, which would be put back into the 2012 anticipated revenue budget line. The money would not likely count toward the 2 percent property tax cap, Gabbert said. "Virtually every town in New Jersey will have the same budgeting problem." Gabbert said.

One thing's for sure–meddling with Mother Nature has led to issues. Deputy Mayor Tom Riche relayed an anecdote that the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook was diverted from its natural path in the center of Graydon Pool off near the hockey rink, which led to a bursting of water around that area during Hurricane Irene.

Councilman Stephen Wellinghorst suggested the village look into "pooling" its resources with other towns to study what is happening ecologically. "Something's going on," he said.

Relocating first floor of Village Hall not as easy as it seems, mayor says

Killion reported that he'd been given a litany of suggestions as to what to do with Village Hall. Some requested that Village Hall's first floor be turned into a parking lot, which could not work due to structural elements of Village Hall, Killion said.

Another suggestion was to put up a higher wall around Village Hall, which would distract from the architecture. Additionally, there would be challenges relocating the Anne Zusy Youth Center and Pat Mancuso Senior Center to Schedler, a common suggestion bandied around lately, which Killion said wouldn't be big enough.

"So then we're faced with another problem: do we expand on Schedler and make a meeting place while we're right back at the same thing –cutting down trees, making parking lots and putting up lights?" 

Possible plan for Village Hall

Killion had his own plan, one the council said they were on board with exploring. The mayor, admitting it might be costly but may yield long-term savings, suggested taking out part of the sheet rock on the first floor and raising it above water levels, as high as six or seven feet with electricals on top. Beneath that sheet rock could be the block material used in the bathrooms, made to be waterproofed. The blocks would be painted under Killion's plan, for aesthetics.

"And when we do get flooded again–and it's not if, it's when–it's as simple as hosing it down, mopping it down and be done. I know we can't–and I've spoken to individual council members and we're in agreement–I know we can't keep replacing sheet rock every time it rains," Killion said. "It's just not good business."

Paper or plastic?

Additionally, council members and residents suggested furniture downstairs either be plastic or metal, to reduce potential damages. Resident Boyd Loving recommended the receptionist at the first level be relocated, if not redeployed in another position entirely.

Ultimately, the village needs a long-term plan because it just isn't fooling Mother Nature, council members and residents said. Killion, not known as the biggest proponent of committees, said he's "toying with the idea" to form a committee comprised of citizens and professional staff.

"This can't go on," he said of the constant rebuilding. "The council feels the same way, the residents feel the same way, you feel the same way." 

Deputy Mayor Tom Riche, in response to Gabbert's statement that the entrance to Village Hall may need a short-term fix for aesthetics, said he'd rather the appearance of Village Hall look somewhat more drab for now.

"I understand the need to repair downstairs for functionality but I'd rather not spend $30,000 purely on aesthetics," Riche, who supported Killion's plan, said. "I don't know if we need to put a lot of effort into engineering. It might be somewhat simple. If we have to spend money on safety reasons, I think we should do that. But I don't want to spend $30,000 or any portion of it just to make it look better. I'd rather spend that money on a more long-range solution."

"I think we're all on the same page here," said Councilman Paul Aronsohn, agreeing with Riche. "We know we have a problem. We have to fix the situation now . . . We should look at this as a real opportunity to sort of think outside the box."