E. Dundee wants flood of feedback

Days after an August storm ravaged parts of East Dundee, leaving century-old trees uprooted, tearing roofs from houses and causing sewage to flood several basements, residents had a clear message for officials: The village's response was unacceptable.

But now, at a time when resident input is most wanted, village officials say they are not receiving feedback.

Village officials Thursday said only nine households had responded to a survey asking residents to rate the village's flood response and recovery and to provide suggestions for improvements.

The flood damaged homes in the Flats and Terrace areas of the village.

"It is disappointing, but is it normal? Yes," Village President Dan O'Leary said. "With the outrage that came out of the community, we thought we would have gotten a better response."

O'Leary said more than 35 residents attended the first village board meeting of September.

"We don't recognize that we did a bad job," O'Leary said. "We do recognize that there is probably room to do a little bit better and be a little more organized."

Village Administrator Frank Koehler said the village would accept responses until the end of the month.

"We want to get a history and identify properties that are impacted when it floods," Koehler said. "We see what the survey results say and look at problems individually."

The village is preparing to release an emergency plan and summary report concerning issues such as the flood's financial impact on the village.

Work is also in progress to line and seal the village's water and sewer mains. The village is also proposing a grant assistance program to help residents in low-lying or flood-prone areas to install overhead sewer mains that would prevent backups in basements and crawl spaces.