Flood moves Arlington Hts. Chamber of Commerce office

The Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce office has moved to the ground level of the Village Bank & Trust, 311 S. Arlington Heights Road, because its basement office in the bank building was flooded over the weekend.

The chamber staff will return to work Tuesday, Jon Ridler, executive director, said Monday, although he doesn’t know how long the chamber will be temporarily housed on the ground floor.

He was working Monday with CMIT Solutions to get the chamber’s computers and telephones in service at their new site.

“When I got here the water had receded, but the carpeting was soaked and stuff on the floor was ruined and you could see it had been 3 or 4 inches deep,” said Ridler. “We lost a couple of computers, and damage to the carpet and drywall will cost several thousand dollars.”

The chamber was already working with the information technology company to get its phone system installed over the Internet and has a good relationship with the bank, he said.

“This is a good lesson to other businesses to have a plan and know who to call,” said Ridler. He expects insurance to cover the damage.

The rain apparently came in windows and doors, and seepage came from an alley on the south side of the bank during the deluge overnight between Friday and Saturday. Ridler said an alley drain might have been plugged, contributing to the problem.

Two other tenants in basement offices received some damage, and at least one has moved upstairs, too, he said.