Mt. Prospect officials praised for response to storms

Last week's storms may have passed, but Mount Prospect's recovery will continue for a while.

For the time being, however, village officials are taking heart that even without power, their town responded like a well-oiled machine.

On Tuesday, Village Manager Michael Janonis and village department heads updated the village board on what has been done and what needs to be done.

Janonis's review of village staff was positive.

"From my standpoint, I can say I was extremely proud of the way the organization responded from the top on down," he said. "Everybody that was called on to play a part in this did so without question, without hesitation."

It is still too early to assess the dollar cost, but Janonis said it probably will be in the $500,000 or more range.

The cost of constructing "jersey walls" -- concrete barriers draped in plastic and plugged with sandbags along River Road -- probably will amount to more than $100,000.

It also will cost a lot to deal with tree damage. Forestry/Grounds Superintendent Sandy Clark said more than 1,800 parkway trees were damaged and more than 269 were removed. Over the next week, the village will be piling the debris in Melas Park, where next week workers will attack it with a tub grinder.

But Janonis said, "Being frugal is not what we need to do at this point. We need to get people back to their normal status as soon as possible."

Finance Director David Erb said the village will document the cost as the village seeks reimbursement through Cook County. The village has made two declarations of disaster, one for the storm and another for the flooding.

All things considered, the damage could have been a lot worse. Only one fatality, a man who suffered a heart attack helping a neighbor start a generator, resulted directly or indirectly from the storm.

Power was down at village hall during much of the storm, meaning Mount Prospect was challenged when it came to getting basic information to residents. It was able, however, to put fliers in local restaurants giving information about cleanup. Fliers also were passed out through the neighborhoods by residents like village Trustee A. John Korn.

Trustee Tim Corcoran, who has seen the devastation from Hurricane Katrina firsthand, said, "This was a walk in the park compared to (New Orleans). Half of their city is still unoccupied. Homes are still dark.

"I feel very safe living here. I can't say if I would feel the same way in another community. And I think the difference is the staff we have."