Politics & Government

Flood Advisory Committee Pushed the 'Go' Button

The New Milford Flood Advisory Committee met for the first time and dove into discussion on how to begin to improve New Milford's flooding woes.

New Milford’s Flood Advisory Committee met for the first time Tuesday evening in Borough Hall.

A discussion for flooding went on for well more than an hour and many topics were broached.

First and foremost was the establishment of a set of ideas or goals that New Milford’s Flood Advisory Committee would operate under. In the end, the group was loosely defined as a group of concerned citizens who are coming together to specifically have an impact on the flooding issues in New Milford.

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One of the first orders of business is to get a meeting with Elizabeth Stagg. Stagg is a Councilwoman from the Borough of Oakland who has been appointed as the county’s first flood management and control coordinator. County Executive Kathleen Donovan announced Stagg’s appointment in August.

Stagg is a licensed civil engineer and a certified flood plain manager who has served on the Bergen County Flood Advisory Council.

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A number of topics were discussed at Tuesday’s initial meeting. Everything from the pros and cons of dredging to the use of an aqua-fence were brought up. These discussions were done in a very introductory fashion. Members of the group in attendance were knowledgeable about the topics but Tuesday’s meeting was mainly just to establish the group.

“We may not be the group of people to get our issues mitigated, but we can be the group of people that pushes those who have the power make a difference,” said Mayor Ann Subrizi.

While they attempted to set up a meeting with Stagg, the newly formed committee is keeping an eye on the borough’s application for state aid from a $3 million stream cleaning grant and looking into possibly doing a borough-wide survey on flooding related to collect data.


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