MUNSTER | The September flooding continued to dominate the Munster Town Council meeting Monday night.
More than 50 residents attended the meeting to have their say or ask questions about the town's plans to prevent future flooding.
While Town Council President Helen Brown did not allow any discussion of the flood during the meeting, she gave the public as much time as they wanted to focus on the topic or ask questions after the meeting.
Several people from the Wicker Park Association on the town's north side attended to ask the council for its support in pushing for the Northcote bridge to be closed as a flood control measure.
Jerry Iwachiw, who lives on Crestwood Avenue and is a member of the association, said he understands there are funds available for infrastructure improvement and he wonders if those funds can be put to use on the north end of town.
Rebecca Pucher, who lives on Madison Street, questioned the town's flood policy and which homes would lose their basements. She also asked whether the town had instituted a policy where it could buy back homes in the flood area.
FEMA mitigation expert Virginia Hale, who was at the meeting to respond to questions, said FEMA has a program where it will buy back homes provided the town participates in the agency's mitigation program, something town officials are looking into.
River Drive resident Ed Peterson asked for council President Brown and Town Manager Tom DeGiulio to resign their positions at the end of the year. Brown said her duties as president are over Dec. 31. DeGiulio said he would not resign.
During a meeting last month, the town asked administrators to bring back reports on its plan to protect the town from future flooding. Administrators have maintained the ultimate solution is the completion of the levee project in Munster, something which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is scheduled to complete within two years.
Town Engineer Jim Mandon said correcting erosion problems along Hart Ditch will be critical. He said the Lake County Drainage Board is interested in proceeding with a joint project along the ditch, where they would continue to clear trees, remove debris and reshape the ditch.
Munster town officials also are talking about instituting three different strategies to build up the levee prior to the Army Corps project taking place which will help protect the residents from flooding. Those initiatives include sandbagging along the levee, placing a clay top on the current earthen levee and using man-made products to provide temporary flood protection, along with concrete barricades at the top of the levee.
The council instructed Mandon to develop cost estimates and bring the information back to the council for a vote.
