Leaders review Elgin's response to September floods

In the wake of September's floods, Elgin leaders say they worked well with nearly two dozen relief and emergency agencies but acknowledged communication with residents was lacking.

"We need to do a better job of communicating with our community," said Police Chief Lisa Womack. "We will do a better job of that next time."

Communication with the city was poor and information about road closures was first put on the police departments's Web site instead of directly on elgin.org, for example.

"I hope we don't have a next time (flooding). But we feel we did a good job," said Councilman Juan Figueroa. "There was a lack of communication. Sometimes perception is reality and some people might think we didn't help with the situation."

Womack said police worked with 23 agencies and initiated the city's crisis plan.

She also noted the department set up a hotline for residents, surveyed people door to door, set up a command center at the Old Oaks mobile park and rescued people via boat.

On Friday, Oct. 10, officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will begin visiting homeowners hit by the flood. To register for federal aid, residents should call (800) 621-3362 or visit fema.gov.

Some of the hardest hit areas fell in the Poplar Creek watershed, east of the Fox River.

Public Works Director John Loete said the storm produced a flow of 87 million gallons of water per minute.

Elgin Councilman David Kaptain said he served on a committee to study the Poplar watershed. The committee concluded that new construction outside of Elgin is only contributing to the problem, he said.

"It's really out of our control," Kaptain said. "The floodplain is expanding as we're building around it. There's no easy fix."

Some homeowners want the city to buy their ruined homes.

But Councilman John Walters said the "sad reality" is that type of action won't happen.

"We don't have that kind of money, and that's displacement of an incredible amount of people," he said.