New Providence Launches Long-Range Plan for Drainage Issues; Stormwater Town Hall Meeting Planned for June 4

NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ – The Borough Council approved a resolution to create a long-range plan to address drainage issues at the Tuesday, April 28 meeting. The resolution is meant to seek a long-term plan to ease flooding and drainage issues within limited municipal resources. The resolution did not meet the approval of the RiseNP Task Force resident group who assessed that the resolution only adds another layer of bureaucracy into an already slow process.Mayor Al Morgan announced that there will be a town hall meeting regarding stormwater and drainage issues on June 4. Drainage experts will be at the meeting to answer residents’ questions. Prior to the town hall meeting, borough officials will be meeting with RiseNP Task Force representatives on May 7.The resolution establishes a structured long-term approach to address community-wide drainage issues. It directs the borough administrator “to work with the borough’s engineering firm to create a comprehensive watershed assessment and improvement plan, including mapping stormwater infrastructure, identifying flood mitigation projects, estimating costs and outlining funding options and timelines,” Councilperson Kathleen Dolan explained. The plan will be implemented gradually through the annual budget and capital planning process “with flexibility to prioritize projects based on available resources,” she added. She noted that these issues have been discussed at the Stormwater Management Committee and with the RiseNP Task Force. This resolution is a formalization of those discussions.RiseNP Task Force Representatives Rich Cuomo and Kate Galak explained that the resolution is not what residents had in mind. They noted that the language of the resolution is filled with “legalese” which needs to be translated into layman terms. They said that they fear that the resolution is another “roadblock” in residents’ quest for a more transparent process in solving drainage issues that affect so many of them. “The way the resolution reads does not feel good,” Galak said.Borough Attorney William Robertson noted that the language used in the resolution is standard municipal resolution language.Additionally, Cuomo and Galak raised concerns regarding the borough’s engineering firm’s ability to assess drainage issues as the firm had previously missed some easily fixable problems.Cuomo and Galak also spoke during the municipal budget hearing. Cuomo noted that the budget process is complex and residents are looking for greater transparency on how tax dollars are used to address stormwater maintenance and flood remediation. Cuomo stated that it is important to maintain the existing stormwater infrastructure before bigger problems arise. They brought up a specific case regarding an issue with the culvert under the railroad tracks near Crest Road and Maple Street. The third pipe under the culvert is completely clogged up with debris, Cuomo said and asked how is fixing this problem going to be financed.James Testa, CFO, answered that the appropriate department will evaluate the problem first. Generally larger projects would be funded by a bond ordinance. First the council would approve the project to go out for bids. Once the bids are received the council approves the funding for the project. The bond ordinance funding is usually approved for projects with a life span of five years or more. Smaller projects are funded within the operating budget.Sarah Ahrens of Crest Road spoke during the public comment session and noted that she has not received responses for several of her action line requests. She noted that there is a fallen tree in the culvert abutting her property which has not been removed despite her requests. Both Councilperson Alan Lerner and Councilman Matthew Cumiskey acknowledged seeing her message. Cumiskey promised to look into it.