Rockville Centre to get $100,000 for Rebuild By Design work

The Village of Rockville Centre will soon be awarded $100,000 from the state, continuing the process of the Rebuild By Design project that began in 2014.

Rebuild by Design was an initiative by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development designed to help communities recover from Hurricane Sandy and prepare for the next large storm. Groups from all over the world submitted projects to help improve the resiliency of hurricane-prone areas.

“The money is for the village’s staff to participate in the process,” said Village Spokeswoman Julie Scully. “The staff knows the village better than anyone and the work cannot be planned without their participation. Some time has been expended already but not much compared to the time that will be put in over the next few years.”

For Rockville Centre, that meant the winning, $125 million project Living with the Bays, which would improve Mill River and make it more storm resilient as an example of what could be done in other areas.

The project is now being headed by the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR), which is getting the money from HUD and distributing it to municipalities for work.

According to paperwork filed by the village, it is requesting $100,002 in funds “…to pay for staff costs in working with GOSR to identify eligible RBD projects that would facilitate cost effective improvements and alternatives to flooding as well as achieving greater resiliency from the impacts of future storm events.”

The projects that have been identified include:

- Drainage system improvements in the areas around Smith Pond.

- Bulkhead and dam repairs/replacement at the north end of Mill River.

- Concrete material removal from Mill River to restore the river’s depth.

- Rip wrap or bulk heading installation to stabilize the banks of Mill River.

- Underground tanks installation in the Tighe Field and Lister Field parking lots, as well as the village’s storage area south of Lister Park.

- Parking lot repaving at Lister Park incorporating green bioswales and re-routing drainage.

- Improvements to increase the ecological qualities of the Tanglewood Preserve.

- Developing a blue-green water retention park along Mill River.