Just over two weeks after major flooding occurred in Barre and Montpelier and beyond, The Valley Reporter reached out to Times Argus editor Steve Pappas, Montpelier Alive, and Central Vermont Adult Basic Education for updates on how those communities are faring.
In an interview this week, Pappas reported that businesses were completing the cleanup, mud and garbage were removed, sheetrock was cut out and electrical repair work was underway. He said that people whose homes and apartments were flooded were cataloguing the losses and filing claims with FEMA, as were business owners.
The city of Barre provided oversize dumpsters and in some cases cranes for removing debris from flood-damaged buildings.
A great deal of the work of volunteering and organizing volunteers in the days after the flood was managed by the Rainbow Bridge Community Center. That group as well as several vets’ organizations have been providing meals in the city.
'Pappas said that while cleanup is progressing, there continues to be confusion and frustration regarding what comes after FEMA claims and referenced a July 26 story by Times Argus reporter David Delcore about a FEMA forum that took place on July 24.
In that story, Delcore details the frustration of people whose homes and businesses have repeatedly flooded and who are questioning the wisdom of rebuilding yet again. There’s confusion over whether it is prudent to use FEMA funds to rebuild and/or whether to hope for a FEMA buy out of flood-prone property. There’s also confusion about process and protocols including health and safety standards for replacing electrical and heating systems in basements that have been flooded.
MONTPELIER
Montpelier Alive has been organizing flood relief efforts to assist downtown businesses in recovering.
“Recovery in downtown Montpelier is coming along slowly. FEMA picked up a lot of the trash downtown last week. Businesses and property owners are taking up the floors and taking down the walls to rebuild mold-free. Montpelier Alive and Montpelier Foundation have partnered to create the Montpelier Strong Recovery Fund. The two organizations together will provide grants of up to $4,000 to small businesses downtown that were damaged by the flood,” said Montpelier Alive executive director Katie Trautz.
“We hope there will be another round in a few weeks. The volunteer hub continues to be busy, we had over 2,000 volunteers in the last week, and as the contractors have taken over many of the building projects, we've seen fewer volunteers. The community is helping in so many different ways. Many have donated time, funds, and energy these past two weeks. There are creative ideas emerging, like music fundraisers and special sale events promoting downtown businesses. Merchants from downtown Montpelier have been invited to sell their products on the VCFA lawn during the Saturday farmers markets. We are still asking for people to donate to the Montpelier Strong Recovery Fund, volunteer and support local businesses in all the ways possible.”
CVABE
Catherine Kalkstein, executive director of Central Vermont Adult Basic Education (CVABE), which is based in the Capitol Plaza building in downtown Montpelier, said their offices were hit hard.
“We were able to rescue both the staff computers and the student laptops. Beyond that everything else was a loss – furniture, office supplies, computer accessories, learning materials and hundreds of books,” Kalkstein said. “We had moved what we could to higher ground but had no idea we would have 3 to 4 feet of water on the first floor. We are very lucky and grateful that both the Barre and the Waterbury sites were spared by mere feet!”
The timing worked in CVABE’s favor, as the organization was on a two-week summer break during the storms, so students were not scheduled to meet with staff in the building.
“Since we rent, we just had to move all of our ruined belongings out to the sidewalk. The landlord is dealing with all the repairs. It is unclear how long it will be before we can get back into our space. I am sure the new owners of the hotel are motivated to get things back up and running as soon as possible,” Kalkstein said.
“For us the holdup will be purchasing new furniture and learning supplies. I am uncertain how to go about even putting a price tag on the loss of all the books and learning materials as it was a collection that had been growing for decades. We have a local school that is willing to host us next week, which will buy us some more time. We can also meet with students remotely if they have a way to connect with us.”
Kalkstein has been working on developing a list of what was lost and the costs to replace materials and equipment. She has also been applying for grants to help. “For now our big need is funds to help us replace all we lost,” she said.
