Damage to infrastructure plus the costs for overtime and materials should reach $25 million, nearly 3 times the minimum required for federal assistance.
SPRINGFIELD – An official with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said Friday that tornado damage to infrastructure plus the costs for overtime and materials associated with the cleanup totals $25 million, or nearly three times the amount necessary for Massachusetts to qualify for federal disaster assistance.
Peter Judge, agency spokesman, said that after receiving reports from damage assessment teams in the field, Gov. Deval L. Patrick could send a letter to President Obama to request the communities hit by the June 1 tornado be declared disaster areas.
Judge said damage assessment teams were able to document that costs to repair uninsured buildings, roads and bridges, and the costs of overtime for emergency responders and materials was an estimated $25 million.
The minimum needed to qualify for federal disaster assistance according to federal formulas is $8.5 million.
“We have reached our number,” Judge said.
Damage assessment teams, which spread out across central and Western Massachusetts communities this week, have filed their reports, Judge said. Those reports will be used to write a letter to the president seeking federal disaster aid, he said.
Patrick was in West Springfield Friday at the Coburn Elementary School to meet with parents and children displaced by the tornado. He urged people to cooperate with damage assessment teams going door-to-door to gauge the amount of damage.
That assessment will help Massachusetts make its case to the federal government for disaster relief. The federal reimbursement could be at least 75 percent of the costs, he said.
Judge said once the state receives a disaster declaration – and Patrick has said he expects that will happen – state and local governments would apply for aid.
Under the program, the federal government would pay at least 75 percent of the eligible costs for repairing or replacing public properties such as damaged roads, bridges and buildings and for removing debris, according to the website of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Under another type of federal disaster aid, homeowners and renters could apply for grants to help pay for temporary housing needs, essential home repairs and other disaster-related expenses. U.S. Small Business Administration low interest, federal disaster loans would also be available to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private non-profit organizations. They cover costs of repair or replacement of damaged real estate, personal property and business assets not fully covered by insurance or other aid.
For small businesses, such loans cover working capital needs caused by the disaster, according to the agency’s website. The teams also estimated that some 1,400 homes in the region were either damaged or destroyed, Judge said.
Also Friday, Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno announced the formation of a public-private partnership to lead the rebuilding of the parts of the city that were devastated by the tornado
The partnership brings together two organizations, the Springfield Redevelopment Authority and DevelopSpringfield, for a task that is expected to last several years. The two bodies combined will be able to apply for federal, state, and private grants, and accept private donations.
Sarno, in a prepared released, said the partnership “will take full advantage of the distinct capabilities and track record of each organization.”
The Springfield Redevelopment Authority has managed more than 35 urban redevelopment projects in the city including the Court Square Urban Renewal Project. More recently, it was designated the lead agency of the proposed redevelopment of the long-vacant Union Station into a regional intermodal transportation center.
DevelopSpringfield, formed in 2008, is a private, nonprofit corporation that focuses on development and revitalization. In 2009, the group established a $1 million storefront improvement program for State and Main streets, and was involved in the State Street corridor project.
Redevelopment authority chairman Armando Feliciano said, “The city needs a coordinated and flexible response to these unprecedented circumstances and the partnership will help to provide that response.”
Nicholas A. Fyntrilakis, chairman of DevelopSpringfield, said a coordinated rebuilding strategy “will affect the long-term growth and prosperity of the city.”
Sarno said that all key stakeholders including neighborhood groups and the business community, will be consulted throughout the planning and implementation process.
Those who wish to contribute toward the economic redevelopment effort can send donations to DevelopSpringfield, P.O. Box 15288, Springfield, MA, 01115-5288.
At Coburn Elementary School, Patrick urged students and their families who are tornado victims to make use of state recovery centers.
“There are fabulous people there and they would run through a brick wall if that is what it takes,” Patrick said during a 50-minute stint of listening to the victims of the June 1 tornado, many of them immigrants from counties like Iraq and the former Soviet Union.
The governor told the gathering of about 150 that the centers can help with emergency housing, cash assistance, insurance claims and damaged businesses.
Many children in the Merrick neighborhood, where most of the tornado damage occurred, attend Coburn. The gymnasium in which the governor conducted his visit was one of the two shelters the city first set up for victims. Both have been moved to the Eastern States Exposition.
Aides from the Springfield center will be at the homeless shelter set up at the Big E shelter Monday until 6 p.m., the governor said.
The governor spent most of his time at the school listening to tales of loss.
“I didn’t come to make a speech today. I came to listen to your stories,” the governor said.
Most of the victims had limited English and spoke through translators. Forty-two-year-old Lutfi Azizov, who is of Turkish extraction and immigrated here five years ago from the former Soviet Union, asked for help for all tornado victims, as his wife, Mayra, cried beside him.
Patrick rubbed the woman’s shoulder to comfort her.
“Thank you for telling the story of your neighborhood,” the governor said.
Azizov’s interpreter, Natalya Belaya, said, “They lost everything, but they are very happy everyone is alive. ... He wants to see smiles on the faces of all kids.” The family has three children.
“When you consider the extent of the damages the extent of the loss of life was incredibly limited,” Patrick said.
Patrick’s office also announced Friday that the state Registry of Motor Vehicles will waive the $25 fee for getting a duplicate driver’s license or identification card for anyone living in a community that was hit by the tornado.
People who lost their license or ID in the storm may apply at any registry office for a free replacement.
Eligible communities include: Southbridge, West Springfield, Springfield, Brimfield, Monson, Wilbraham, Sturbridge, Westfield, Agawam, Auburn, Chester, Blandford, Montgomery, Russell, Holyoke, Chicopee, Ludlow, East Longmeadow, Longmeadow, Wales, Oxford, Brookfield, East Brookfield, Webster, Holden, Southampton, Easthampton, Hampden, Charlton, Douglas, Millbury, Uxbridge, Belchertown, Northampton and Palmer.
The decision was made after the administration learned many people who are displaced were having difficulty finding new places to live or obtaining services without a government-issued picture identification, said Transportation Secretary Jeff Mullan.
Information on branch locations and hours can be found on the RMV’s website at www.mass.gov/rmv.
Also aiding those affected, the American Red Cross relief operation will be distributing supplies to tornado-affected areas in Springfield along mobile routes today and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
There will also be a fixed distribution site in Sturbridge at 246 Worcester St. today and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
Red Cross volunteers will be providing comfort kits, coolers, work gloves, tools for yard work, household cleaners, trash bags and tarps. They will also provide snacks and beverages.
“Getting help into the hands of people as quickly as possible is the priority of the Red Cross in times of disaster,” said Suzy Davidson, director of the American Red Cross relief operation for the tornadoes in central & Western Massachusetts.
For information on Red Cross services, caseworkers are available 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., seven days a week, people can call Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross at (413) 737-4306, extension 1946, or American Red Cross of Central Massachusetts at (508) 595-3730.
Republican reporters Peter Goonan and Sandra Constantine contributed to this report.