On January 16, 2014, Lisle Mayor Joe Broda gave a 45 minute "2014 State of the Village" address at a Lisle Chamber of Commerce luncheon held at the Hilton Naperville-Lisle hotel. The cost for a Lisle resident to attend the midweek event was $35 per person.
You can watch the edited version of the speech on You Tube HERE. The video was posted online 11 days after the event.
10 Things Mayor Broda Failed to Tell the People of Lisle:
#1. The Village has no master plan to fix the river levees and no stormwater management plan to address a 100 yr flood.
Broda stated that the Village of Lisle was caught "off-guard" in April 2013 when heavy rains caused the East Branch of the DuPage River to overtop the levee ... and that's OK because?
Fact of the matter is that way back in 2006 DuPage County issued this report. (more background HERE)
The Village and the County were well aware of the deteriorating condition of the river levee, the desperate need for repair of the levee, the complications of acquiring easements and the need to acquire funding. That was 2006.
From 2006 to 2013 the Village made absolutely no progress on levee repair. It clearly was not a priority. There was no budget to set aside funds annually to fix the flooding - but millions were spent on "beautification" projects and "the pond."
The Village did not have an emergency plan in place should the river overtop the levee. This is why the Village was caught "off guard." The Garfield pond has no role in mitigating a 100 yr flood. The original levees that are now settled and deteriorating, were designed for a 50 yr flood not a 100 yr flood event. The Village knew that a 100 yr event would overtop the river levee, even if the levee were in good condition. The "pond" does not provide any mitigation for a 100 yr flood event caused by the river overtopping the levee. The pond merely detains stormwater that eventually flows INTO the river.
While we can look back and be thankful there was no loss of life or severe injuries and rightfully praise the efforts of those who worked, volunteered or donated funds and supplies to help in any way, it is unacceptable to stand before the people of this town who pay taxes and say that the Village was caught "off guard" for a known high risk event with potentially devastating consequences.
What actions has the Village taken since April 2013 to prepare for the next flood that overtops the levee? Have easements been acquired, funding obtained, engineering documents completed? Nope.
There is no master plan to fix the flooding underway.
The "big news" presented at the 2014 State of the Village address is that we now have CodeRed emergency notification service to call you when you are underwater. Why Lisle did not have Code Red years ago is anyone's guess, but its been around since 1998.
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Part 2 of "10 Things Mayor Broda Failed to Tell the People of Lisle" coming soon...
Preview - Sales Tax Revenue in Lisle has been Falling for YEARS.
Broda would like you to believe that the drop in sales tax revenue in 2013 is due to the loss of 2 car dealerships. Fact is sales tax revenue has been falling for years - long before car dealerships left Lisle.