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Cleanup and repairs to city property in the wake of Hurricane Sandy are estimated to cost $12 million, and city manager Terence Reidy explained the breakdown of those costs at the Dec. 5 council meeting.

The city will likely be reimbursed by insurance companies and the Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] for most of the costs, Reidy said.

The Governor’s Office asked all municipalities to estimate their recovery costs a day or two after the storm hit on Oct. 29. The $12 million figure is a ballpark number, Reidy said, and includes every cost associated with the storm — overtime for personnel, debris cleanup, hiring of contractors and repair work.

The initial estimate for boardwalk repairs is $4.5 million, Reidy said. The sewage treatment plant on Ocean Avenue “took in a lot of salt water,” Reidy said, and will need replacement. Repairs there are estimated to cost $3.3 million.

Debris cleanup will likely cost $1.2 million or $1.3 million, Reidy said, and is being covered by the first round of FEMA grants.

Those three areas have the highest cost, Reidy said, and other expenses are much lower.

The foot bridge at Sunset Lake is closed due to structural damage and needs extensive repairs. Traffic lights also require repairs, as do 57 parking pay stations, which are estimated to cost almost $800,000 to replace. The pay stations are covered by insurance, Reidy said.

The Wesley Lake and Deal Lake flume outfalls were both damaged in the storm, and those are included in the $12 million estimate as well.

City resident John Moor asked during public comment if other towns bordering the city’s lakes would be expected to pay for flume repairs. The city filed to be reimbursed for damage, Reidy said, and if FEMA pays for the repairs in part, the towns using those lakes would divide the cost of rest of the repairs.

Reidy was unaware of whether other towns requested FEMA reimbursement for the lakes. Councilwoman Sue Henderson said Loch Arbour and the Deal Lake Commission had filed for damages.

“We were told to do this to give us a high estimate because it’s a lot easier to lower your number than it is to go back and ask for more money,” Reidy said.

The city council authorized a $7.1 million emergency appropriation at the Nov. 19 meeting, which gives the city emergency authority to start paying for repairs and cleanup, Reidy said. That number will decrease as the city receives more money from FEMA and insurance.

“That estimate was designed to move the city from where we are, to be able to what we need to do in the sewer plant and do what we need to do in the boardwalk, even if it takes FEMA six months to reimburse us for some of those costs,” Reidy said.

The over-$1-million FEMA loan for cleanup should come to the city within weeks, which is unprecedented in terms of reaction time, Reidy said. FEMA funds for overtime pay and some repair are expected to come next, as those areas are not usually covered by insurance. Boardwalk repairs are covered by insurance, but the insurance process will take longer than FEMA.

“At the end of the day, we’re getting as much as possible reimbursed by the government and FEMA, and the least amount paid for by the city when the job is done,” Reidy said.

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[NOTE: A previous version of this article misstated the cost of parking meter replacement as $8,000 instead of $800,000.]

 

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