More aid for storms headed this way

July 22--Gloucester and Cape Ann's towns are in line to receive additional federal aid to account for the costs of cleaning up after the last of a string of March winter storms.

But state and local officials are uncertain as to how much of the latest round of Federal Emergency Management Agency money is headed this way.

FEMA confirmed last week that President Donald Trump had issued a major disaster declaration that makes federal aid available for the storm that hit Essex County and four other Massachusetts counties March 13 and 14. The declaration followed an earlier one that recognized the March 2 and 3 storm as a disaster.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency indicated that $25 million in federal money was coming to the state to cover the March 13-14 storm, on top of an earlier $25 million aimed to ease communties' costs from the March 2-3 storm and its damaging coastal surges. That storm delivered far more damage to Cape Ann than the later storm for which aid was announced last week. But Gloucester Public Works Director Mike Hale noted that aid from a disaster declaration does not simply cover damages, but also reimburses communities for their cleanup costs.

While the March 2-3 storm ravaged Gloucester's Good Harbor Beach footbridge, the seawalls off Stage Fort Park and the seawall at the Blynman Canal, Hale noted that the March 13-14 storm stretched Public Works staffing and posed other problems. At its peak, the latter storm -- fueled by high winds and heavy snow -- knocked out power to 2,500 National Grid customers across Cape Ann.

"We had to shut the Back Shore (Atlantic Road) down nine tides in a row," said Hale, noting that those efforts and cleanups from downed tree branches and wires taxes the department's crews and runs up costly overtime expenses. He said any repairs from either storm needing immediate attention -- such as the Stage Fort and Blynman seawalls -- was dealt with as quickly as possible, at the time. The expected FEMA aid will reimburse and help defray storm costs across several departments, from Public Works to the Police Department for details.

"We live in a time right now when municipal budgets are so tight, storms like these make it difficult to manage any damage and overtime costs within our budgets," Hale said. "Whatever (reimbursement) comes our way will certainly help."

The chances for cities and towns to recoup money for damage to municipal property and other costs -- money allocated separately from funds made available to private property owners for any damages they sustained -- is complicated by the fact that FEMA considers each storm as a separate entity.

While federal money has now been approved for the storms of March 2-3 and March 13-14, for instance, there was no disaster aid declaration for the March 7-8 storm. That storm's surging waves tore the pilings out from beneath the rotunda at Manchester's Tuck's Point, lifted up the structure, and didn't quite place it back where it had been, then Manchester Public Works director Carol Murray noted at the time. But the overall storm damage across the state didn't come close to meeting the required $9.5 million damage threshold needed for the state to seek a federal disaster declaration, according to MEMA spokesman Chris Besse.

"That's why we have to document all of our expenses -- our time cards for overtime, any costs for plowing) contractors) and any repair costs when we're managing thee types of storms," Hale said. "We do that anyway, but it's especially important for getting any of these reimbursements."

Gloucester submitted a request for $2.8 million reimbursement for the storm of March 2-3, while Hale said the city's aid request from the March 13-14 storm also ran into "hundreds of thousands of dollars."

The awarding of the latest round of FEMA aid came as emergency management personnel from several North Shore communities gathered Friday in Beverly for workshops designed for cities and towns to document and submit their aid requests for specific costs.

"I am thankful for the effective coordinated response by first responders, public works and emergency management officials, and others during this series of challenging storms," state Secretary of Public Safety Dan Bennett said in a prepared statement. "This disaster assistance will reimburse local and state agencies for a large share of the costs they incurred to provide emergency services, clear debris and snow, and repair damaged infrastructure."

Ray Lamont can be reached at 978-675-2705, or [email protected].

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