Falls Church Assistant City Manager Cindy Mester said that plans have been laid for a public town hall on storm water and flooding issues on Monday, Oct. 17, at the Community Center. The event was scheduled in the wake of the Sept. 8 event, when the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee dumped eight inches of rain following the earlier pass through of the remnants of Hurricane Irene and left many City residences flooded in their basements.

Mester said that an examination of existing capabilities, a review of Sept. 8 events, what the City plans to do going forward, dedicated spending for capital improvements, and an examination of citizen options will be discussed, along with an open discussion and question-and-answer period. She said the City’s current storm water preparedness is to handle a so-called “10 year storm,” as if the case with most surrounding regions. Vice Mayor David Snyder pointed out, in that context, that some called the Sept. 8 storm as “1,000 year event.” Mayor Nader Baroukh said, “I have received many, many phone calls about what happened that day.”