Ernesto

[Brent]

By all accounts, Cary was very well prepared, had Ernesto been as bad here as it might have been (and as it was thought to be likely to have been).

Staff went the extra mile and had folks on call around the clock. Communicaiton was ongoing and good, and it appeared that the town employees were keeping close tabs on the situation around town, including any problems.

Having the "hotline" was excellent.

Ernesto wasn't too bad at all here. If it had been worse, I think Cary was ready.

[Lurkie]

I only wish Cary included in their plan a check of the storm sewer grates. Cleaning gutters and grates is a low priority for this Town and is the source of lots of street flooding in a down pour.

Lurkie

[DarylB]

I only wish Cary included in their plan a check of the storm sewer grates. Cleaning gutters and grates is a low priority for this Town and is the source of lots of street flooding in a down pour.

Lurkie

One of the things that made our recovery from Hurricane Fran a success was citizen involvement. I remember the call to get people on well organized teams, and we went to those places where chain saws and hammer and nails were in greatest need. Checking the storm sewer grates? Great idea, but why not an effort along the lines of "Neighborhood Watch" for this, ie you can't expect the government to do everything for you, you have to take an active role. Look at what happened to New Orleans if you want to see the result of that... people waiting around for someone else to save them, noone willing to organize or actively participate themselves... regrettable.

Why can't we proactively be ready again, with a volunteer group that is given specific responsiblities to help in the recovery process (ie we have the best educated citizenry short of Seattle) to include plumbers (just no longer on the council), electricians - now in Iraq, and automotive specialists... and on and on goes the list. We have people who can and do stuff that can assist in our own recovery, it worked before, but we weren't prepared, we had to organize on the fly. Just one of the things we COULD be doing with volunteers, if only SUSAN MORAN didn't stand in the way and block the effort... [-X

[Lurkie]

I have not problem personally with cleaning the grate(s) near me or keeping the gutter clear of pinestraw, leaves, branches and litter, however I believe that the overall problem of cluttered grates and gutters is directly related to storm water removal and is clearly a health and safety issue that is a responsiblity of our local government and it isn't being adequately addressed.

Lurkie

[DarylB]

I have not problem personally with cleaning the grate(s) near me or keeping the gutter clear of pinestraw, leaves, branches and litter, however I believe that the overall problem of cluttered grates and gutters is directly related to storm water removal and is clearly a health and safety issue that is a responsiblity of our local government and it isn't being adequately addressed.

Lurkie

Agreed. Storm water runoff is a real problem. Additionally, runoff from all the construction sites is filling our lakes and streams with silt, and the silt is the result of extensive problems with erosion.... that's another reason I'm running for soil and water conservation board, we need to work these kinds of problems, instead of making more of them.