Tornado recovery so far has been ‘remarkable’

Date: 9/13/2011

Sept. 14, 2011

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

SPRINGFIELD — Although Mayor Domenic Sarno and the two men leading the effort to create a rebuilding plan for the city, Gerald Hayes and Nick Fyntrilakis, said much progress has been made in addressing the needs of the city after the June 1 tornado, more needs to done.

Hayes called the progress so far “nothing short of remarkable.”

He added, “If there is one message we want to convey today is that Springfield is in full bloom recovery.”

Sarno, Hayes and Fyntrilakis met with about 30 municipal and civic officials as well as the press last week to distribute a progress report on the rebuilding effort and to ask for additional donations that would be used to underwrite the hiring of a consultant to write a master rebuilding plan.

Hayes said that in the next two weeks a “world class firm well versed in disaster planning and recovery” would be announced.

Donations can be made at the DevelopSpringfield Web site (http://developspringfield.com). “No donation is too large. No donation is too small,” Sarno said.

Fyntrilakis said that while the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) does offer some money for rebuilding plans and there is some state money as well, those funding sources would not cover the full cost of the plan’s creation.

The master plan will take into account the “distinctive attributes” of the neighborhoods affected by the tornado, Sarno said.

Hayes said the public’s perception is there are millions of dollars flowing into the city, but that is not true.

“Springfield must take the lead on its own financing,” Hayes said.

The mayor noted the city has fronted the $7.5 million in clean up from the storm, which Sarno said will probably be closer to $10 million when everything is done. There has been no reimbursement from FEMA as yet.

“We have not seen one dime,” Sarno said. He added his administration speaks to FEMA daily and receiving reimbursement is part of the conversation.

The report, presented on Sept. 9, showed that 477 single-family homes and 87 multi-family homes were damaged by the tornado. From June 2 to Sept. 1, there have been 2,698 commercial and residential building permits issued with a value of $13.06 million.

Eighty-seven small businesses were affected and 82 of them have since re-opened. The two schools damaged by the storm were ready for the first day of school using temporary classrooms.

According to the presentation, once the consultant is hired, the planning process would continue until the end of the year. The city plans to work further with property owners on their immediate needs and obtain the funding for the implementation of the plan.