In EMERSON, a March court date awaits the borough and Emerson Redevelopers Urban Renewal, developer of under-construction Emerson Station, in Emerson’s legal battle to recoup $500,000 in construction services on a new ambulance headquarters originally promised in return for ambulance property deeded to the redeveloper.
The redeveloper contends the borough did not meet its obligation to provide a site and design for the new ambulance quarters by a contractual deadline of Dec. 31, 2019. The borough contends the redeveloper acted in “bad faith”and reneged on paying for the ambulance property.
Also, the role of the Emerson Station construction (i.e. “Block 419”) in exacerbating local flooding issues, especially to one business on Palisade Avenue, was highlighted at a September Council meeting by the owner of Academy Electrical Contractors, Inc.
That concern is likely to be a topic in 2024 as well as the larger topic of town-wide flooding, also raised following an early September rain storm that dumped 3–5 inches on the valley. The mayor and council previously directed the borough engineer to come back with a plan to analyze the stormwater system capacity and problems in phases, with costs for each phase.
The larger, regional problem of flooding throughout Pascack Valley towns due to the Pascack Brook and Musquapsink Brook continues to plague all the towns. In addition to several towns undertaking drone studies of brooks to identify obstructions and needed stream-bank restoration, Westwood is working with a Stevens Institute professor to help pull together a local Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) model to help reduce reservoir releases during severe rain storms.
Westwood received a $200,000 state grant to conduct the two-year study with Stevens, and the proposed computer model, used in New York State and California, may help Woodcliff Lake and Oradell reservoir operators to optimize reservoir capacity and mitigate downstream flooding ahead of severe storms.
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