Village Administrator Jim Palmer
Flood Mitigation Dominant Topic at Bronxville Board Meeting
By Stephen E. Lipken
Deputy Mayor Robert S. Underhill convened the March 11th Bronxville Board of Trustees meeting, saying that the Village Board, “has been spending a tremendous amount of time on stormwater improvements, an ongoing effort over the last decade, starting with the Midland Basin Drainage Project.”
“We have been doing a lot of work with respect to flooding occurring at the Sussex and Hamilton intersection, setting out the facts as we have experienced them and will be posting those to our website shortly (villageofbronxville.com).”
Village Administrator Jim Palmer added that the Village is working on projects to address surface runoff in different locations, particularly the Hamilton-Sussex neighborhood, extending down Homesdale, across Locust to and through the Central Park Drainage System that the Village shares with the City of Mount Vernon.
“Background for the project really started with Tropical Storm Ida and reoccurring in subsequent events, most notably the April 30th and September 29th events of 2023, but especially with Ida.”
“The proposed drainage system follows the existing drainage in that area, coming off of 22, down Sherman, down Sussex, making its way to the low point of Hamilton and Sussex. From there the drainage runs across Pondfield, down Homesdale, across Locust and down Central Parkway.”
“On March 1st, the Village received a letter from Mount Vernon, requesting that Bronxville cease construction of the project and address the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS 4) issue. On March 7th, the Village agreed to suspend the project and meet with Homesdale residents.
“A March 1, 2022 sample was taken by Mount Vernon, indicating [alleged] elevated fecal matter from Bronxville.” Palmer stressed that the Village vigilantly cleans lines and televises pipes.
Public Hearing regarding Local Law 1-2024, Sanitary Sewer Laterals, Inspection and Repairs was tabled for future conversation and input but nonetheless requires plumber’s inspection of homeowner’s connections leading to municipal stormwater sewer lines.
Finally, Local Law 2-2024, Tax Cap Override was passed.