Trustees say they’re waiting on FEMA as Wood Street residents press to save 25 homes

Trustees of the Village of Wernick heard emotional public testimony May 27 from Wood Street residents and neighborhood advocates urging the board to move quickly to complete a paused flood-mitigation project that residents say is needed to protect about 25 homes.

"I don't want them to be homeless," said Ben Pollock, who identified himself as a Wood Street resident, during public comment. "Where else can we find the money to save those 25 homes?" (Ben Pollock, speaker 15). Pollock said residents were disappointed after the board put the Wood Street and Jefferson Avenue project on hold.

Paul Sutter, a resident of 634 Wood Street, questioned the village's approach to contracting while reimbursement remained uncertain. "You can't get reimbursed for a project that is not approved," Sutter said, arguing that starting work before formal approval often makes projects ineligible for grant reimbursement (Paul Sutter, speaker 13). Trustees responded that the village had submitted a FEMA application tied to damage from Hurricane Ida and that FEMA reimbursement practices can require municipalities to pay first and seek reimbursement later.

Trustees said the village has bonded $1,000,000 for the Wood Street project but that bids came in far higher than that amount. "We went out for bids and the lowest responsible bidder was $2,100,000," one trustee said, noting the gap between the bonded amount and construction estimates (Committee member, speaker 3). Trustees said they are calling state and federal officials, pursuing other grants and seeking clarity from FEMA before moving forward.

Residents pressed for broader action beyond Wood Street. Laura Boddy, a member of the Traffic Commission and the Washingtonville Neighborhood Association, urged a village-wide, staged mitigation plan rather than piecemeal projects. "We're panicking, piecemealing, and we're going into another hurricane season," she said (Laura Boddy, speaker 11). Several residents described repeated basement flooding, damaged property and community health concerns tied to long-standing drainage and sewer deficiencies in Washingtonville.

Trustees provided several clarifications at the meeting: a special permit for construction in a flood zone is a form of stronger review not a blanket easing of controls; a Washingtonville drainage study is expected to be complete within roughly two weeks with a public briefing planned; and the village is assembling a tentative multi-year flood mitigation framework that leaders said could take a decade to complete and will rely on outside grants and agency cooperation.

The board did not vote on a change to the Wood Street project at the meeting. Trustees said they expect a clearer update from FEMA by the end of the week or early next week and that they would continue to pursue alternative funding sources, including state and federal grants.

What happens next: trustees said staff will continue outreach to FEMA and other grant programs; the village intends to present Washingtonville study results to residents when the study is complete. The public record in the transcript shows motions to receive public comment and to proceed with routine agenda business, but it does not include a vote on the Wood Street construction pause or on alternate funding at this session (individual roll-call vote details for other agenda items are not specified in the transcript).