The Borough of Tyrone has submitted almost $190,000 in claims for damages to a borough-owned baseball field, reimbursement for emergency services and the cleanup of the Little Juniata River and the Schell Run catch basin as a result of last year’s flood on Sept. 17 and 18.
Borough finance director Phyllis Garhart said the borough had just more than 200 overtime man-hours which it is seeking reimbursement for through funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The funds are available through what FEMA calls Public Assistance money made available to state and local governments and certain non-profit agencies.
The overtime hours are for services provided by the borough during the two-day flood period at a cost of $4,763. The borough offered emergency services to its residents during the crisis. It is not eligible to receive reimbursement for regular hours worked by its employees during the period.
The borough is also seeking reimbursement for a project which was completed in December in the area below the Ninth Street Bridge, as well as work done in the Schell Run catch basin.
The borough bid out the Ninth Street Bridge project to have a cleanup of accumulated stone and other debris removed.
Tyrone met with Department of Environmental Protection representatives in early October to secure a permit to do the work after a stone bar several feet in height had developed after the high waters.
During the DEP’s visit in October, borough and state officials toured the area near the Ninth Street bridge as well as the flood control project in Schell Run near Shippen Street.
An overall inspection of the flood control facilities along the Little Juniata River was also completed from the bridge upstream to the area of Hutchinson Run near the Ferner Baseball Field.
After the inspection was completed on Oct. 7, DEP approved an emergency permit to allow the borough to remove stone and silt from under the bridge. Such permits are for 30 days, however Mayor Patricia Stoner said DEP also granted two 30-day extensions.
The low bid for the project was submitted by Blair Excavating of Tyrone for a price of $13,632.80 and Tyrone Borough Council approved the bid. The work was completed in December.
DEP told the borough a permit wasn’t needed to remove the stone and silt at the flood control project at Shippen Street. Borough employees completed the stone and silt removal in that area.
Earlier this week, Garhart said the borough is seeking reimbursement for the cleanup below the Ninth Street bridge and the work done by the borough in the Schell Run catch basin.
Garhart said the borough’s total costs for overtime hours on Sept. 17 and 18 and the cleanup projects is $22, 243. The amount was submitted to FEMA after field inspections were done by the agency.
Garhart said the borough is also seeking $167,450 for damages to the little league field. The borough owns the property but it is leased and operated by others.
Just this week, the Borough received partial eligibility approval from FEMA for the ball field (see box on page 2 for more details).
The borough also owns the VFW Teener league field which sustained damages estimated at $25,000. The borough is attempting to seek funding to cover those damages.
Shortly after the flooding, the borough’s emergency manager, Jim Beckwith said damage to residential property and businesses was estimated to be at least one million dollars.
In addition to FEMA money for municipalities, the agency also offered grant money to residents. Loans were also made available to businesses affected by the flood through the Small Business Administration.
Six months after the flood, Tyrone Borough continues to face criticisms about how it handled the situation and what could have been done prior to it and in the future to minimize the effects of an overflowing Little Juniata River.
Residents, particularly those on hard-hit Park Avenue have questioned what the borough could have done leading up to the flood, during the flood and what could be done now to prevent another one.
The issue was addressed at an October Borough Council meeting where Rod Bohner, Blair County Department of Emergency Services Director of Operations, said, “The answer to what happened is it rained and it rained and it rained more than we ever had it rain before.”
He explained it was clear problems had built up along the streams both before and after the flood.
“The ground never gets a chance to dry up and it just rains and rains,” said Bohner at the time. “Sure the creek’s built up. Stones build up every time there is a heavy rain. You have to have a DEP permit to go into the streams.
“Everybody can get upset; I would be upset also,” said Bohner. “But, if the DEP says you can’t do something in the stream, you are going to get fined.”
Bohner said in his opinion, the borough had been “number one” in getting things done on the night of the flood and during the follow-up work in the weeks following the flooding.
Beckwith also addressed the concerns of one of the citizens who offered public comment.
“At no time did the flood control (at Clay Avenue) endanger any residents in the borough,” said Beckwith.
He said he and Highway Department manager Vern Latchford had checked on the area several times on the night of the flood until it was no longer safe to enter it.
“At no time, was that flood control on Clay Avenue to the Juniata Creek on Park Avenue in danger of overflowing,” said Beckwith.
“The sewers did back up…,” said Beckwith. “I don’t know whether you can fathom what five inches of water in two hours can do. You could have had a sewer line 36 inches in diameter and it would have filled up. When it fills up, it takes the least path of resistance, that unfortunately, is going to be our cellars.
“(The five inches of water) had to go somewhere,” said Beckwith. “Water always runs to the creek, and the creek overflew. It had to go somewhere; the sewer lines weren’t big enough. I don’t care what municipality it is, when it starts to rain at that magnitude, you are not going to be able to carry it away. The creeks could not carry it away fast enough.”
Beckwith said, “I felt the sewers and flood control did its job. The good Lord brought it upon us and there was nothing we as a borough or any elected official could do about it. There was too much rain in too short of a period of time.”
Mayor Patricia Stoner asked borough department heads to address the public regarding the issues.
“We did everything we possibly could do,” said the Sewer Department’s Tim Nulton. “When you have that much water coming in, there is nothing you can do.”
In Saturday’s edition of The Daily Herald, Mayor Stoner and borough officials detail past efforts and what’s been done since September regarding flood control.
