City looks to help with car losses

Jan. 10--Gloucester officials are working with the state's emergency management agency to provide some relief to as many as 70 local auto owners after their vehicles were totaled by the storm surge that overran much of the Gloucester High School parking lot during Thursday's ravaging storm.

While saying the city is hoping to provide help with towing and storage costs, Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken and others in her administration are emphasizing the city will not be shelling out money for damages to those who parked their cars at Gloucester High to get them off the street to allow snow removal.

"No financial reimbursements from the city are being given," said Christopher Sicuranza, "but we are exploring every assistance and emergency program possible to offer citizens the opportunity to get the best help."

That exploration includes talks with state emergency officials, who are compiling damage estimates from Gloucester and other communities to present as fodder for a federal disaster declaration that would free up money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.

Not just a Gloucester problem

That route is also being explored in the town of Manchester. Town Administrator Greg Federspiel said Tuesday his town is looking to include damages to "a handful" of car owners who essentially lost their vehicles left behind Town Hall when flood waters overwhelmed that parking area during last Thursday's astronomical high tide and the storm's surge.

While acknowledging that residents who park their do so at their own risk -- as is the case in Gloucester -- Federspiel said it's frustrating for residents and officials alike to see such damage when residents are simply complying with a town order not to park on streets during a storm and snow removal.

"We inquired of our (insurance) carrier to see if there was any relief (covered in the town's policy), and they respectfully declined," Federspiel said. "It's frustrating when people do the right thing and then get hurt by it. We could get relief for them if we can get a disaster declaration, but I'm not sure the damage will reach that."

Romeo Theken echoed those sentiments. While the city is working with MEMA to assess Gloucester's overall damage to public and private property, "the probability of meeting the threshold for state or federal monetary reimbursements are low," the mayor said in a Facebook post.

Essex Town Administrator Brendhan Zubrickie said his town will also submit damages to MEMA in the hopes of recovering funding. But he said the town's only discernible loss was a shellfish truck, while Aslundh Tree Expert -- allowed to keep some of its trucks on town property behind the police station during the season-long street parking ban -- has not contacted the town regarding any damage to those vehicles. Aslundh officials did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday.

Officials in the Rockport town administrator's office did not return phone calls Tuesday afternoon about any issues in that town.

Limits on what city can do

Sicuranza said that, for Gloucester car owners who do not have comprehensive insurance coverage, the city is trying to help with some fees the drivers may be facing.

"Tally's (Towing) happens to also own a salvage yard, and the city is providing assistance to mitigate costs and strike tickets and towing fees where possible," Sicuranza said. Beyond that, the city's hands are relatively tied in terms of offering direct help.

State law limits cities and towns as to what type of financial help they can provide for private property owners --whether for car or home. In these cases, the city is not liable for damage to the vehicles since motorists choose their snow ban parking areas at their own risk, Sicuranza said.

The mayor's office has reached out to a number of area car dealers and largely "encouraged them" to work with flooding victims, Sicuranza said. But, the city, after checking with the state's Ethics Commission, is limited as to what it can do along those lines as well.

Car dealers step up

In her Facebook post, the mayor noted that four area dealers responded favorably and have agreed to at least work with the Gloucester High flooding victims: the Sudbay Automotive Group of Gloucester, the Peabody-based Lyon-Waugh Motor Group, which is headed by Gloucester resident Warren Waugh and donated two electric cars to the city Police Department earlier this year, and Michaud Automobiles and the Village Automotive Group, both based in Danvers.

Emilio LoCiento, general sales manager with the Danvers-based Village Automotive Group, said his dealership had already facilitated sales agreements with four victims of the Gloucester High flooding as of Tuesday afternoon.

"One person had just purchased a car two weeks prior to this," LoCientto said. "She reached out to us, told us what happened, and we worked to make it right for her."

"We're trying to help on a case-by-case basis, depending on what the people were driving, what their situation is, but our business is really big on the community, and we want to try to help."

Cidalia Schwartz, manager of the Lyon-Waugh Motor Group, said she had already received at least one call on Tuesday after the mayor posted the dealership's contact information Monday night. She said the group has put some incentive and savings plans in place. At the group's Acura dealership in Peabody, for example, anyone whose vehicle was lost to the Gloucester High lot flood can get a $500 savings plus some complimentary accessories on a pre-owned vehicle. A number of vehicles at Lyon-Waugh's Mini dealership in Bedford have been "called out" for savings and incentives as well, she said, adding that the group's seven dealerships are ready to "work with" anyone looking to replace higher-cost vehicles that may have been under- or uninsured.

A waiting game for fields

While scrambling to deal with the damaged autos, Public Works Director Mike Hale said the city is also waiting to evaluate damage to Gloucester High School's fields and grounds, including Newell Stadium.

Hale said that, despite "coming close," storm surge water did not get into the high school itself, which Superintendent Richard Safier seconded. Safier said Principal James Cook got into the building Friday and found no water. "We dodged a bullet there," Safier said.

Officials are waiting for the snow and ice to clear the fields before confirming any damage, Hale said.

"For all that did happen, the direction of the wind from this storm (out of the northwest instead of the northeast) saved us from what could have been a lot more coastal damage," Hale said. "It was very bad, but there was that silver lining -- it could have been a lot worse.'

Ray Lamont can be reached at 978-675-2705, or rlamont@gloucestertimes.com.

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