Candidates differ on Bartlett's response to flooding

As some suburbs coped with another deluge this week, Bartlett residents are recalling last year's storms that left parts of it underwater.

Angry residents crowded village hall last September with complaints that local officials didn't respond fast enough.

Village president candidates Sherry Bormann and Michael E. Kelly disagree on how well the village responded. Bartlett voters will elect a new village president on April 7 to replace longtime incumbent Catherine Melchert, who decided not to run again.

Bormann, 61 and an incumbent trustee, maintains the village reacted swiftly to soggy areas like Hearthwood Farms and Bartlett Lakes Estates.

"They kicked into action immediately," Bormann said.

Residents saw their cars submerged after storms in September and December. Experts called September's flooding the result of a "100-year storm," as over a 30-hour period from Sept. 13 to 15, officials measured 8.8 inches of rainfall. The average rainfall for the entire month is 3.2 inches.

While Bormann was mopping up her own flooded basement on that September Saturday, she said village employees were out knocking on residents' doors trying to help. She said by that Sunday, the village had finished the necessary paperwork to help secure federal aid for flood victims.

Kelly, 53, is Hanover Township supervisor. His mother lives in one of the areas that flooded. He said village employees, despite what Melchert and Bormann said, waited for three days before visiting flooded area and leaving leaflets at doors.

"People's houses are being ruined, and what was the response of the village Basically nothing at that point," Kelly said.

He said upgrading stormwater systems on the north side of Bartlett needs to be a higher priority for the village. He said officials have ignored that need, despite increased development in the area over the last six years.

Kelly pointed to Bormann's six years as a trustee, which he said make her accountable for supporting Melchert's policies. That includes how the village responded to the flooding.

Bormann said during the interview she "was not Cathy Melchert." Though Bormann has said she wants to continue the village's conservative spending practices established during Melchert's tenure, she wanted to establish distance between her and Melchert.

Last year's storms forced Melchert to a declare the only state of emergency in her 16 years in office. That response allowed residents to apply for state and federal aid for repairs. The village has also paid for an engineering report to study drainage issues. Bormann said the village also paid to have photos of flooding shot from a helicopter for further analysis of the problem.

Kelly doesn't think too much of the engineering report, which Christopher B. Burke Engineering is conducting. He said the report won't blame the village for any wrongdoing, as Bartlett is paying for it.

Bartlett officials hope to use the report's findings to upgrade the stormwater system. Burke said in January that remedying the problem could take years and could not put a price tag on fixing the problem.