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Dobbs Ferry trustees review $3.1M Wallgrove drainage plan and green‑infrastructure grant strategy
Summary
Trustees reviewed a feasibility study that estimates $2.4M to repair and extend Wallgrove drainage piping and a $700K green‑infrastructure add‑on, and asked staff to include green measures in a grant feasibility package while refining costs and coordinating with NYSDOT on the Broadway crossing.
Mare, who opened the Board of Trustees workshop, asked staff to present a feasibility study for the Wallgrove drainage project and whether to include green‑infrastructure elements to strengthen a grant application.
Anthony, the project engineer, summarized the study of about a 260‑acre watershed feeding the Wallgrove drainage run and said much of the existing system functions at about a two‑year storm capacity. He recommended designing the repaired segments to withstand a 10‑year storm, noting that municipal practice often targets 10–25 year events. "We were about 2,400,000," Anthony said of the core piping and repaving estimate, and he added that including stream‑bank stabilization and green‑infrastructure measures on Masters property would add roughly $700,000, bringing the overall estimate to about $3.0–$3.1 million.
A staff/consultant participant explained grant options and scoring priorities: the village is considering a "risk implementation" grant that can award up to $3 million with no local match and that favors projects with green infrastructure and demonstrated damage from Hurricane Ida. "The grant can go up to $3,000,000 and has no match," the staff member said, but noted the state will award only a small number of such Westchester County grants and that assembly of Ida damage data across the village would strengthen the application.
Board members asked clarifying questions about scope. Anthony confirmed the estimate assumes trench restoration and resurfacing (mill and overlay) after construction; sidewalks and curb work had been included in an expanded scope but could be separated for funding purposes. He also noted the stream‑bank stabilization and initial headwall repairs lie on property owned by Masters, and that new easement boundaries are being established to allow the stabilization work.
Trustees flagged a critical coordination risk with the New York State Department of Transportation: the system discharges under Broadway into a state crossing whose capacity is roughly at a 10‑year event. Upgrading upstream capacity substantially beyond that level would require DOT action to rebuild or replace the Broadway crossing and adjacent retaining wall. Anthony said such work would be a major, separate undertaking and recommended aligning village plans with state schedules and responsibilities so upstream improvements do not outpace the crossing capacity.
The board directed staff to include green‑infrastructure elements in the feasibility report for the grant application but asked project staff to review and, if possible, streamline the green‑infrastructure cost estimate before finalizing the submission. The trustees emphasized using grant layering where feasible — pursuing drainage funding first to unlock follow‑on repaving and pedestrian work — and to compile Ida damage evidence to improve the village's scoring for the grant.
Next steps: staff will refine the green‑infrastructure cost estimate, complete the feasibility study for grant submission, and coordinate with DOT and property owners (including Masters) on easement and crossing constraints. The trustees did not make a formal funding commitment at the workshop; the project will return to the board with updated cost details and a recommended grant application package.
