Clean-up carries hefty price tag

Date: 12/5/2011

Dec. 5, 2011

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

LONGMEADOW — Longmeadow officials are projecting that the town could be on the hook for approximately $2.5 million in bills related to the Oct. 29 storm.

The current estimate of the total cost of the cleanup is approximately $11.88 million, according to a Nov. 18 memorandum from Fire Chief Eric Madison and Director of Public Works Michael Wrabel to Town Manager Robin Crosbie and the Select Board.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is expected to reimburse 75 percent of those expenses, but in the meantime, the town is faced with the prospect of coming up with the funds to pay the bills rolling in up front.

“The $2.5 million is an eventual number. The town needs to pay for everything, then we get reimbursed,” Select Board Chair Mark Gold told Reminder Publications. “We’re expecting 75 percent reimbursement, but you never know when that’s going to come in. It’s certainly not going to be in the next month or two.”

Due to this reality, at its Nov. 28 meeting the Select Board approved a motion allowing Town Accountant Paul Pasterczyk to explore short-term borrowing options.

“The biggest issue right now is cash flow. The state allows us to do borrowing without an override or a vote from the electorate if we are expected to be reimbursed and we are about to start borrowing funds to pay bills once they come due,” Gold explained, adding that as of last week, the town had already incurred bills totaling approximately $8 million.

President Barack Obama has yet to make a declaration of emergency because, according to Gold, “paperwork has been held up in Boston,” and therefore, there is no timetable on when reimbursement may occur.

Gold also stated that he has had conversations with Robert DeLeo, speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, regarding reimbursement at the state level.

“I have reason to believe that the state will help offset that remaining $2.5 million,” Gold said.

However much reimbursement Longmeadow receives from the state, Gold said the town should expect to utilize a combination of funds in the treasury and other revenue sources, which may or may not include bonding.

Voters at the Nov. 8 Special Town Meeting approved to table three motions to transfer more than $1 million from the treasury to the Other Post Employment Benefit Liability Trust Fund, Operational Stabilization Fund and the Employee Benefits Stabilization Fund in order to keep those funds available for storm cleanup expenses.

Gold asserted that he stood by the Select Board’s decision to act quickly to clean up the town after the storm and address cost later.

“Now more than ever,” Gold said. “I work with people who live in other communities who are still asking, ‘What am I doing with this debris?’

“I know we’ve been open to criticism through social media and other newspapers, but on Nov. 1, we had a public safety crisis. People needed help and how would they have felt if we said we were going to wait and go through a bid process and wait 60 days to start cleaning up in order to get the best price?

“We had to make sure the town, the streets and sidewalks were safe for our residents and with the benefit of hindsight, the decision looks even better than when we first made it,” he concluded.