Village of Coal City could float bonds to address flood issues

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COAL CITY - Awash in complaints after a rainfall measuring in the double digits a week ago, the community is eyeing a $5.2 million referendum to go toward infrastructure drainage improvements. “We'll put the referendum forward,” noted Trustee Joe Phillips during Monday evening's Coal City Village Council meeting. “People have to mark the ballot box. If it doesn't pass, we'll do what we can.” The referendum is one of several recommendations the council advanced during the meeting specifically called to discuss the rainfall, which began Friday, Sept. 12, and ended late Sunday, Sept. 14, pushing 3.5 million gallons of water through the sanitary sewer system at the peak of the storm. The weather was partly the fallout from Hurricane Ike, which hit the Gulf Coast last week and caused extensive damage to the city of Galveston, Texas. “The weekend's storm smashed through historical highs set at the U.S. Geological Survey monitoring site,” Village Administrator Matt Fritz noted, calling this an unprecedented rainfall for Coal City. “Of about 10 inches when it's all said and done. The peak drainage was over 19,000 cubic feet per second.” The village declared a disaster emergency on Monday, Sept. 15, to assist residents in receiving possible future funding. “We send billions of dollars overseas to help people out, and we've got people right here who need help,” Mayor Neal Nelson noted. He said the governor declared Grundy County a disaster area, paving the way for state financial assistance for repairs to flood-damaged buildings. The community is waiting for the federal government to take similar action. Residents may call (815) 941-6750 for information on the Federal Emergency Management Agency. About 15 residents attended the meeting, most of whom experienced water damage from the historic rainfall. Fritz said the greatest problem the village faced was probably in having no place for the storm water to go. “The storm was an act of God in terms of liability insurance,” he said. Nelson said village employees and officials did not sit back and wait for daylight last Saturday, after the sanitary lift station alarms tripped. “I got up at 1:30 a.m., and found some of the Public Works employees were already at the maintenance plant,” he said. Nelson said about 30 local homes experienced storm damage during the outfall when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and devastated parts of New Orleans in August 2005. “I see some angry and frustrated faces in the audience tonight,” he said, prior to opening the meeting to public comment. Nelson spoke of different incidents, such as the living room couch found in a drainage ditch in the community. He told the audience their frustration and anger should be directed at the council, not to Public Works employees. Resident Darrell D'Agostino thanked village employees and volunteers who assisted with sandbagging and similar efforts, then asked whether the council had a goal with a means of funding it. He also asked when the problems with the infrastructure would be addressed and fixed. “The storm drains in our neighborhood are non-functional,” resident Greg Patterson of West Maple Street told the council. “They didn't work last year, and they're not working now. This can't go on. Those storms sewers have to be addressed.” Patterson told of one instance in which a neighborhood resident jumped into the storm drain with a hose to get the drain functional. “There are a lot of issues down there,” he said. “Those people should not be flooded out. It's not acceptable and can't go on. It's a health hazard.” Resident Cheryl Brock told the council she lost everything in the storm. “Who's going to pay for everything in my home?” she said. “No one else has to live like that.” Patterson said those attempting to sell their homes must by law declare the storm sewers in their area do not work. “We're not in a flood zone,” he said. “We're in an area where the sewers don't work.” Someone asked why residents were not notified sandbags were available, and why the drain in front of his home doesn't work. He said he lost his home again this year, and has his children living in a trailer. Others complained about the runoff from a cement plant in their neighborhood, saying the residue was going into the drains, and about the drainage ditches filling up with foliage. Another asked if there were plans to expand the capacity of the Claypool Drainage system. Nelson said the council is thinking of taking care of the sludge problem in the 50-acre former sanitary sewer lagoon, then using the lagoon as a depository for storm water drainage. “It will cost about $1 million to convert the lagoon into storm water drainage,” village engineer Mike Perry noted. Nelson said the village will undertake a sump pump inspection, and find the problem with the clogged drainage ditches. He said anyone dumping landscape waste of any kind in the ditches will be ticketed by police. Additionally, he said the council will speak to the owners of the cement plant about solutions to the runoff problem. Other recommendations include possible smaller annual bond issues to correct some of the problems with less impact on village taxpayers. Also, to purchase and implement corrections within the annual budget, or reprioritize the budget to make the purchases. The recommendations include implementing as many corrective steps as possible by July 30 of next year.