February 11, 2013

On October 29, Rahway experienced the full force of Mother Nature in a way it hasn’t seen in hundreds of years. That evening the tidal surge from Hurricane Sandy caused the Rahway River to top the levee along Main Street for the first time since it was constructed some four decades ago. Several blocks of downtown were flooded, including the Recreation Center. The Rec Center saw a total loss of the gymnasium floor and was forced to discard the classroom partitions and many custom-built cabinets and furnishings along with fitness, program and electronic equipment.

At least 200 City trees were felled by the storm, 84 of them on private homes and businesses. Untold trees on private properties, many of them massive pin oaks, were blown down on houses and power lines. Much of Rahway sat in the dark for days as PSE&G enlisted help from out-of-state linemen to get the electricity flowing once again.

City workers pulled through to prevent further damage and to save lives. As Sandy approached that Monday morning, DPW crews placed sandbags around City Hall in anticipation of the levee failure. Emergency Management personnel and volunteers leafleted homes in the area urging residents to evacuate to higher ground. Firefighters and Police Officers were on hand to protect residents from downed electrical wires, flooded basements and fallen trees. Thousands of Rahway residents signed up for our free Nixle service, which delivered text messages alerting them of the storm and its aftermath while we supplemented this information with the help of social media like Facebook and Twitter.

Ironically, we were in the process of realizing the $1 million in reimbursable expenses from 2011’s Hurricane Irene and October snowstorm when Sandy slammed into our city. We were fortunate to have vehicles and equipment specially designed for water rescues that we purchased after Irene, at our disposal during Sandy. The Preliminary Damage Estimate for the City’s losses from Sandy were approximately $35 million; $20 million in private losses and $15 million to the city. We have submitted our applications to FEMA and related agencies to recover most, if not all, of the costs of Sandy. As I mentioned to many of you in this chamber on November 7, I am proud of the competence and professionalism of our public safety personnel, DPW and all City employees who helped our community get back on its feet following this historic event.

Rahway’s flood problems are regional problems shared by all municipalities upstream of us. Therefore, in an effort to find regional solutions I have been working with the Mayor’s Council to seek regional solutions. I have met with the US Army Corp of Engineers and NJDEP to expedite regional flood control efforts. The City entered into an Interlocal Agreement with several upstream communities to conduct a preliminary environmental assessment of a proposed storm water retention project in South Mountain Reservation. The new basin promises to partially alleviate some flooding along River Road and Grand Ave., but the real benefit to us is to free the Army Corp of Engineers to conduct an important hydrology study of Robinson’s Branch which is the first step in addressing the flooding along Elm and Central Ave. and New Church St. This study is scheduled to begin this spring. We have also begun the process of buying out four repetitive loss properties on Grand Ave and Essex St. utilizing FEMA and other grant funding.

The various departments of the City experienced many accomplishments in 2012. Our Police Department responded to 35,000 service calls. The newly-formed Tactical Patrol Unit was successful in addressing quality of life problems and street crime, making 200 arrests, removing five firearms from the street (including one assault weapon) and citing over 200 motor vehicle violations.

Our Fire Department dealt with 1,700 alarms, including the birth of two children: one in a private home and one at the Rahway train station. In 2013, the Fire Department will receive delivery of a new 1500 GPM pumper to replace the existing model well past its service life.

The Health Department inspected over 500 businesses and was instrumental in ensuring that many eateries affected by Hurricane Sandy were safe to reopen in the days following the storm. The department screened almost 1,100 people for a variety of chronic illnesses and provided flu shots to nearly 600 adults and children.

Prior to the loss of the Recreation Center, our Department of Parks and Recreation received grant funds from Union County to rehabilitate basketball courts and provide ADA access at Madden Field, Stein Field and Williams Field. The Recreation staff is working hard to get the building open once again to the public early this year.

Our Division of Senior Services provided over 300 free income tax preparations for seniors and low income residents and 100 seniors received some much-needed home improvements to their houses thanks to the Handyman Program.

Outside, 14 streets were resurfaced in 2012 and/or received new ADA-compliant curbing. The popular Streetscape work will continue downtown with new curbs, lighting and landscaping that will make the neighborhood safer and more attractive to motorists and pedestrians. Our Engineer has overseen the installation of 24 sewer meters to get a better handle on inflow and infiltration that costs the City thousands of dollars annually in sewerage charges.

I expect many of these excellent and critical programs to continue in 2013 even though we face continued strains on our revenues due to declining state aid and successful tax appeals as a result of the real estate market slowdown. However, redevelopment has continued downtown and will continue to be a bright spot that will improve our neighborhoods and grow our tax base.

The Meridia Water’s Edge is an 88-unit market-rate residential development behind the Library that will open this year. The Meridia Lafayette on Main Street will have ground broken this year and we’re hopeful that some exciting plans to build additional residential units and parking on "B" lot behind Cherry Street will move forward in 2013.

I postponed this address from the usual January meeting date because I hoped to be able to address the city’s 2013 budget tonight. However the delay in announcing 2013 state aid allocations has delayed our budget process for another month. It will be a tough budget year not only because of the budget cap and police and fire department retirements but also because of shortfalls in the Water Utility revenue. In 2012 we were forced to supplement the utility with almost $700,000 from the Current Fund. Tonight the City Council will be asked to address this unacceptable condition with an ordinance to raise water rates. While this is an unpleasant prospect it is necessary to make the utility self-liquidating and help restore the city’s financial health.