Brown Deer declares public emergency after August storm that washed out road and flooded library
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Summary
Village officials declared a public emergency after an intense rain event washed away a section of 40th Street at Churchill Basin, flooded the library’s lower level and caused multiple sewer backups. The board authorized an exemption from competitive bidding to speed temporary repairs while FEMA and other funding options are pursued.
The Village of Brown Deer declared a public emergency on a resolution Tuesday after an intense overnight rain event in mid‑August washed away a portion of 40th Street at the Churchill Basin, inundated the library’s lower level and caused multiple sewer backups.
The declaration, adopted as Resolution 25‑11 after a roll‑call vote, allows the village to bypass normal public‑bidding rules for immediate repairs. Village President Montgomery read the resolution and trustees approved it following a motion by Trustee Thompson and a second by Trustee Owens.
Public Works staff described the storm as unprecedented. Matthew, the village public‑works representative, told the board that nearby gauges registered roughly 11 inches of rain in the storm area and that “we started getting lift‑station alarms … around 1 a.m.” He said the village saw several sewer backups, roadway overtopping near the high school on 50th Street, and that the 40th Street bank at Churchill Basin was “completely washed away.”
Matthew said the village reported sanitary sewer lift‑station discharges to state regulators and had active pumping operations at three locations. He explained that the village sewer system drains to the large regional interceptor, which was “100% full,” leaving local systems unable to evacuate storm flows.
Officials said the library’s lower level flooded again after a sump‑pump failure during a power outage; Dana, the library staff contact referenced in the meeting, reported more than 5,000 damaged books that required disposal and vendor Paul Davis Restoration had begun recovery work. The library will remain closed to the public on the lower level while staff retrieve requested items.
Village Manager Tyler said staff submitted required paperwork to FEMA the same day and that FEMA funding is the primary financing strategy. If FEMA does not approve, officials described sequential fallback options: the state disaster fund, and reallocating funds from the village’s capital improvement plan as a contingency. Matthew said engineers from Clark Dietz are on site to design a temporary fix to re‑establish the road bank and protect downstream properties; the temporary work is planned to proceed this fall with a permanent reconstruction design to follow in late fall or winter.
Trustees asked about timing and cost. Staff estimated the combined temporary and permanent work could be in the low millions and described a path that could include FEMA reimbursement; an aggregate figure discussed during the meeting for temporary and permanent repairs was about $2.7 million, which staff said was an estimate pending detailed design and funding decisions. The board authorized going forward with temporary repairs under the emergency exemption, to be followed by formal contracting and public reporting when designs and costs are finalized.
Officials urged residents to follow village announcements for recovery details, recycling and debris collection schedules, and updates on library services.
