HILLSDALE—The borough’s public works director said that the borough needs to make immediate repairs to its damaged salt storage shed and replace hundreds of tons of salt that washed away during flooding caused by remnants of Hurricane Ida in September.
And officials said the environmental cleanup cost not covered by the federal government could stack up to $15,000.
“The salt shed’s in a lot worse condition than we thought it was,” Public Works Department Superintendent Billy Haffler reported at the Oct. 5 council meeting.
He said the salt shed was “starting to fall over now that all the canvas is ripped and broken.”
Borough Administrator Chris Tietjen said based on the Department of Public Works vehicle and contents losses due to Ida, a previously planned salt shed replacement project was put on hold.
Tietjen said until the borough knows the “extent of our losses” at the DPW building, it was recommended by two advisory committees to hold off on replacing the stricken salt shed.
Tietjen said officials will know more about costs to the borough when final loss numbers and reimbursement totals are in hand.
Tietjen said the environmental cleanup at the DPW building was expected to cost up to $25,000, of which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) covers up to $10,000.
Haffler said that due to Ida flooding, “We lost more salt than I thought in the flood.” He said the borough must purchase road salt before year’s end at $54 per ton; after Jan. 2, 2022 the price rises to $76 per ton from the county cooperative purchasing program.
He said every time salt gets wet, “It just dissolves and goes away.” He said the DPW would work to fix the salt storage shed soon and told Tietjen that he had worked with the engineer and construction department to develop plans for a new salt dome. Tietjen requested the plans.
Mayor John Ruocco warned both to have the salt on hand before wintry weather hits. “I think it’s important that we have adequate salt ready to go cause we’ve seen the movie where the salt isn’t applied and the snow comes in December and it’s not a pretty ending.”
Ruocco urged an immediate salt purchase to make sure both a salt supply and snow-plowing equipment is ready to go by December.
Haffler said he will buy 100 tons of salt immediately and that the standard is to start with a full shed of salt in December.
He said the salt shed will be full, “unless another flood comes and washes it away.”
He said hundreds of tons of salt got washed away initially by Ida’s flooding.
And he said water must be pumped off of protective tarps that capture water during rain storms, protecting the salt piles. “Literally, the salt floated away with the storm.”
Haffler said the tarps were not working effectively to prevent water from entering the salt piles and the tarp set-up must be fixed.
We reported in mid-September (“Ida drives damage, heroes as valley digs out from historic storm, driving change”) that Hillsdale’s DPW took a direct hit from Ida and that maintenance equipment was destroyed.
Of response crews and cleanup efforts, he said at the time, “I cannot say enough about our OEM, fire, and police staff, who responded to the challenge posed by Ida. While not as severe in Hillsdale as was Floyd and Irene, the sudden increase in water surge that occurred over a short period of time late Wednesday night into Thursday morning posed its own tactical challenge.”
He said that Hillsdale, no stranger to high water, suffered some of its worst flooding as the remnants of Hurricane Ida worked their way up the Northeast.
“The Pascack Brook overflowed its banks and the Glenbrook Park neighborhood took on several feet on water. Several families evacuated with the assistance of our Fire Department, Police Department, DPW, and OEM personnel,” Ruocco said.
He said “Some used our library as a refuge.” Ruocco said of the DPW compound, “Although we moved our equipment out of harm’s way beforehand, the garage was flooded.”
Other storm impacts in the borough, via Ruocco:
- The Kings shopping center was severely flooded.
- The St. John the Baptist Church property flooded “as it usually does in a heavy rainfall, but reportedly no water entered the church or school.”
- The industrial area flooded as the brook overflowed.
- “The town’s power grid did well, with few incidents of downed wires or trees.”
Ruocco said Borough employees worked through the night and were getting well-deserved rest.
Looking ahead, the Pascack Valley Mayors Association wrote Bergen County Executive James Tedesco III on Oct. 5 to file for a FEMA grant “to assess flooding solutions that span waterways in the Pascack Valley.”