A standing-room only crowd of more than 100 people packed a meeting room at the Shorewood Library Thursday night and peppered officials with questions and complaints about the severe flooding that hit the community last month.
Some residents at the meeting, the first of four town hall sessions on the flooding in the village, held signs that read "Sewerwood" or branded biohazard symbols. Complaints also were heard over the lack of seating as residents lined the wall of the room.
Frustrated residents like Mary Jo Kukoda said the village didn't do enough during the floods that caused at least $1.5 million in damage and affected hundreds of homes.
"Shame on the village of Shorewood, shame on you," Kukoda said.
Other residents asked about potential health issues associated with sewer water in basements and wondered why the village didn't answer phone calls on the Monday following flooding.
Village officials gave a brief overview of the damage caused by rainfall on July 15 and July 22. Some gasped when they heard the amount of rainfall that fell in Shorewood in late July.
However, officials blamed faulty sewer pipes and contractor errors for basement backups, and proposed a reconfiguration of sewer pipes that would increase their capacity.
The meeting concentrated on the problems in southwest area of the village. Three more meetings are scheduled for the other areas of Shorewood.
Village Manager Chris Swartz said answers to some of the questions posed Thursday would be posted on the village website - villageofshorewood.org - as they become available.
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As a resident that was in my 20's when we purchased our home, little did I know how much money it would take to keep the waters at bay. The first year 1979 SNOW....No one had told us this basement leaked, and being young we did not see the signs, fresh paint etc. We lost during the first thaw hundreds of antique leather books, and other antiques stored in what we thought was a dry basement. It leaked in all corners. We have purchased specialty gutters, blocked the drain tiles, and fielded away the water. After another flood in about 2008 we replaced basement windows with glass block (THE BEST IN THE WORLD) The City Assessor who came through the home told me "ALL HOUSES IN SHOREWOOD LEAK" - this was during the last assessment Shorewood undertook a few years ago. A former Village employee told my husband this summer there are still "WOODEN SEWERS" in certain areas, but would not tell him where..Don't cry residents, we all got it. Yeah it is a pain in the butt, but our old fashioned palmer valve took in the rain waters the other day, and nothing backed up. It was interesting watching it leak at floor level. Keep your valve in working order..Check them yearly, and right now we have just one corner left that leaks. The contractor we use is extremely busy, so we should have that finished sometime this fall...WE LOVE SHOREWOOD. TAXES AND ALL.
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maybe if the small thinkers in the village hall would quit focusing on their permit policing (see article in Milwaukee Magazine) they could spend some time actually doing something worthwhile. Really, permits to change a light switch............come on get real, it is just a money grubbing exercise. It is tough to make a generalization but it sure seems that politicians and their appointees at all levels are either crooks or incompetent, I think I would rather have the crooks, at least you can identify them for what they are. If they blame this on contracor errors ande faulty sewer pipes then they obviously knew about the shortcomings. I am so sick of petty bureaucrats with their self serving agendas and feelings of entitlement and know-it-all attitudes.............the lady had it right "shame on you"
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Back to top31 year resident - Aug 11, 2010 9:00 AM - Report Abuse
mdbfs - Aug 06, 2010 8:38 AM - Report Abuse