THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, FEbrUAry 2, 2024 Page 3 ASKS| FROM PAGE 2 ed. We just got rain puddles and they would dissipate in a day or so. Q: When did you first notice the flooding? A: Around the same time that COVID came. We’d get two or three high tides and then the third one seemed like the one that caused the problem. It would come up in the back of our tires in the parking lot. Within hours, it would drain. In 2021, that’s the first time it came into the building. Up until then, we really didn’t have to deal with it. Q: How did it go from there? A: The first time it came into the building was on a weekend. It was about an inch deep. The following year, it was about two inches deep. And during this recent one was three inches. Slowly, but surely, it started coming up. Q: And how much damage did you experience from the flooding? A: We’ve gone through three furnaces in three years. Q: What’s been the estimated cost of the damage? A: Probably close to $100,000, which includes the $6,000 flood insurance we have to pay each year. And having to replace the heating system all of the time. There’s lost product. Metal got rusty and wood got damaged during the first two floods. We had wall-to-wall carpeting in the office area that had to be ripped out. We were worried about mildew. We had to rip out the whole kitchen. We don’t want any black mold. The water came up to the bottom of the truck in the parking lot. It won’t start now. The battery is junk. Q: Anything else that you experience down here when it floods? A: Besides the money damage, it kind of disrupts everything. People can’t get to work. There’s a whole snowball effect from it. Q: Please tell me a little bit about your business. A: We’ve been in business a long time. We’ve done all of the major hospitals and schools in the state. Q: What was your biggest project? A: During the recession in the 80’s, we did 64 elevators in the John Hancock Building. We had marble shipped up from Texas on big freight trucks – 64 crates for the 64 elevators. It was a project that lasted a year. I know we 425r Broadway, Saugus Located adjacent to Kohls Plaza Route 1 South in Saugus at the intersection of Walnut Street We are on MBTA Bus Route 429 781-231-1111 We are a Skating Rink with Bowling Alleys, Arcade and two TV’s where the ball games are always on! PUBLIC SKATING SCHEDULE 12-7 p.m. Sunday CRAFTING THEIR PRODUCT: Two workers at Hamilton Elevator Interiors, Inc. assemble the walls of a future elevator. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) would have gone out of business if we didn’t get that account. Q: What about today? A: We do the elevators in all of the colleges, hospitals and hotels. Q: What’s the big thing these days? A: The MBTA is our biggest project. We do all of the MBTA glass elevators. With the glass, you can see in and it’s a deterrent for sexual assaults. We do 10 to 15 of these a year. And in the elevators, we use urine-proof stainless steel. They’re not going to rust and will last forever. Q: You said you love Saugus. A: Yes, I do, and we’d rather stay here. It cost us $150,000 just to move here 20 years ago. I like this location because of the nature in the area. It’s quiet and secluded on a dead-end street. And it’s close to Boston. But the nuisance of the flooding has got us talking about moving. Q: You were talking about that at last week’s Board of Selectmen’s meeting (Jan. 23). You talked about your own experience and the need to reactivate the floodgate project. A: Before that meeting, I didn’t even know there was a plan for flood gates. It kind of makes me mad because if they [the federal and state governments] had dealt with it back then [in 1993, when the state Secretary of Environmental Affairs called a halt to the project], we wouldn’t have a problem now. Q: Because the project was halted, you have witnessed a growing problem that seems to be getting worse and worse every year. A: It sure does. The water can get four feet deep in the middle of the road. I’ve seen a guy where the whole front of his jeep was under water. And we had neighbors four years ago who just bought a house across the street, and they had a little green Honda and they couldn’t get down the street to get to their new house because the water in front of the house was four feet deep. They ended up selling their house because ASKS | SEE PAGE 4 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday $9.00 Price includes Roller Skates Rollerblades/inline skates $3.00 additional cost Private Parties 7:30-11 p.m. $10.00 Price includes Roller Skates Adult Night 18+ Only Private Parties Private Parties 4-7 p.m. $9.00 12-9 p.m. 7:30-11 p.m. $10. 18+ Adults Only After 7 PM $9.00 Everyone must pay admission after 6 p.m. Sorry No Checks - ATM on site Roller skate rentals included in all prices Inline Skate Rentals $3.00 additional BIRTHDAY & PRIVATE PARTIES AVAILABLE www.roller-world.com For Advertising with Results, call The Advocate Newspapers at 617-387-2200 or Info@advocatenews.net
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