Portland Gets No Promises of Aid for Damage from Storms

More than 15 Portland homeowners and business owners who had extensive property damage in the July 8 deluge, and sustained more water damage with Hurricane Irene, showed up Wednesday night at a board of selectmen meeting to meet with federal officers.  

They were hoping to hear about federal aid that might be available to offset thousands of dollars in property losses sustained in the July 8 downpour. 

Two federal representatives were on hand and told them Portland was not covered by a specific disaster declaration from either that storm of Hurrican Irene. They were urged to file for an SBA loan and to give each elected official in Congress reports on their losses.

There were no promises for help.

Conor Quinn, a District Aide for Congressman John Larson, listened to some of the damage accounts from citizens and urged they send letters and documentation. He said the office could be a link with federal agencies. Quinn said, "Bring your issues to our attention so that our staffers can point you toward resources." He told the members of the public he'd drop off FEMA literature on a table they could take.

A more detailed overview came from Bernard Sweeney, the District Director for the Small Business Administration. He explained the way communities are judged to be eligible for federal disaster aid. Sweeney said to get FEMA grants, 25 houses and 25 businesses must be documented as uninhabitable within any political district, plus at least $100,000 in documented damages.

One homeowner, Denise Rowland, talked about her basement filling up with 5 feet of water in 20 minutes during the July 8th storm. She said it destroyed her furnace, oil tank and water heater, and undermined the basement floor. She said she simply didn't have the money to replace the items "and winter is just around the corner." She has been having a running dispute with her insurance company. 

A man said his commercial building on Main Street had a flooded basement and several offices were lost. Several homeowners reported basement damage and multiple sink holes on their properties because of the July 8 storm.

Another homeowner said she had to pay for repairs for her mother's basement apartment with a loan. There was no help from insurance. 

Still another homeowner said she had basement damage and had flood  insurance, but the company was balking. She said many repairs were on hold because of the cost. 

Sweeney responded "if you can stay in your home" it won't meet the criteria for FEMA aid. He said FEMA is built to be a rescue agency. They come in to make sure everyone is safe. If everyone is already safe and still in their homes, the recovery assessment goes down.  

Sweeney also said FEMA had another criteria. Each city or town has to have three buildings with $40,000 dollars in assessed damages, plus proof that 25 percent of the residents in town lost their employment for 90 days or more.

First Selectwoman Susan Bransfield said "these folks here tonight have been hit hard. They have tens of thousands of dollars in damage" and trying to cope without any insurance money.

"They need help," she said.

Selectman Mark Finkelstein said, "We need to try and help these people, they need your boss's help."

Talking to Quinn, he said he needed to tell Congressman Larson about the plight in Portland, and said "remind him his grandfather came from here."

Finkelstein also urged town officials and people who had damage to write to Larson, along with Senators Richard Blumenthal and Joseph Lieberman, as well as the town's state legislators.

"Ask them what they can do for us," Finkelstein said, "we'd like to hear how they answer."

Bransfield also said a town the size of Portland was at a disadvantage to reach the threshold of damage that would trigger aid.  "We're not in a state with sprawling jurisdictions. We're not like Texas," she said. 

Sweeney said Connecticut was also at a disadvantage with states like New York. He said they have trained teams ready to fan out and document the damage and get it into federal authorities. He also said they have county governments with a lot of territory that makes it easier to conform with federal guidelines.

He felt there was still an opening to get some aid if they could get a damage report to Governor Dannel Malloy and suggested he might be more than happy to listen. He said if the damage from the July 8th storm and from Irene could be linked, it might make a difference with the governor.

He explained the governor has leverage to declare specific towns disaster areas in the federal aid process. 

Sweeney urged all Portland residents with property damage to apply for SBA loans. He said the application instructions and forms were available on the SBA web site. He said the SBA only counts structure damage to homes, not lawns, garage floors or outdoor recreation equipment such as pools.

Earlier in the meeting there was a detailed report on the July 8th storm and what was needed to prevent a future occurance of the disasterous flash flooding. Town consulting engineer Jeffrey Jacobson and Public Works Director Rick Kelsey said the damage on July 8 with undermined culverts, basins and pipes would get worse with each bad storm. They said there were a variety of improvements that could be made to improve drainage.

A detailed review determined that one underground drainage system downtown was overwhelmed. It contributed to the flood behind police headquarters that spread several hundred feet until it reached the Senior Center and flooded the basement.

The main drainage pipe in the area was a century old and made with blocks of brownstone. They said it couldn't handle another 25- or 50-year storm. Jacobson said the July event was "off the charts" for intense rain in a short period. 

Bransfield would like to have Portland apply for a hazard mitigation grant with the federal government to improve the town's ability to withstand another severe rain storm. However, she said it would be difficult to compile all the needed information. Quinn volunteered to assist, with another aide saying Quinn is in charge of liaison work for federal grants.

Bransfield said she could promise to give the town a detailed update on federal or state aid to help homeowners and busineses each month at future meetings of the Board of Selectmen.