Portland First Selectwoman to Hold Meeting on Storm Damage

Portland First Selectwoman Susan Bransfield wants to hear from home and business owners who are struggling to make repairs caused by the storm on July 8.

Bransfield said she'll be setting a date and location for the meeting within the week and is hoping to have word on any federal or state programs that can help.

Bransfield talked with the staff of 1st District Congressman John Larson to explore possible avenues of help. FEMA, she says, can't respond because the storm didn't meet their threshold. Possible help from the Small Business Administration also was discussed with officials at that agency. While loans appear unlikely, the town is urging officials to find leads on anything that might provide assistance.

Bransfield is more hopeful of obtaining help from the State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. She says "there may be grant money to help build conduits, culverts, rip rap areas and other systems" that would divert or contain floodwaters from a major storm.  She said the aid is under a category for hazard mitigation, and storms are included.

One Brownstown Avenue citizen complained to Bransfield about major erosion on his property with the loss of 5 to 10 feet of land that he said was carried off into the nearby quarry. He was seeking aid in the form of a better storm drain system to channel water from his property.

Another citizen on Edwards Road had to take out a substantial loan to repair her mother's basement apartment that was destroyed by water that made its way into the basement. The water then raced down the side of the hill the neighborhood is built on and ended up on Main Street, which was covered with water, small rocks, sand and dirt. 

Town property was also hit hard. 

Damage to five town buildings was covered by CIRMA an inter-local insurance consortium, and Bransfield said the cost for repairs "was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars."  The amount is still being tallied. 

The Brownstone Intermediate School at 314 Main Street was badly flooded, with two feet of water in one part of the building. There were emergency efforts that started within hours to vacuum out the water and dry the building, mostly in rooms on the ground floor and basement. 

Emergency repairs are underway including asbestos mediation in one section. Tests after tiles were pulled up were positive for asbestos, triggering removal. Replacement of sheetrock and painting was necessary in other places. Bransfield feels confident BIS will be safely repaired and fully operational for the first day of school on Aug. 31.