Amid tragedy and destruction from tornado, officials speak of long-term plans for rebuilding Western Massachusetts communities

Monson town manager Gretchen Neggers said the town it is difficult to look past the damage to think of rebuilding. "We're trying to get past the horror and see the opportunity," she said. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD – State and local officials at a public forum Tuesday said the June 1 tornado left behind an unprecedented amount of damage and disruption in Western Massachusetts, but it also created a unique opportunity for long-term redevelopment.

Before a crowd of more than 250 people at Center Court at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, a series of speakers, including Gov. Deval L. Patrick, Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray, and Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, emphasized a need to look to long-term goals while dealing with the immediate problem of cleanup from the storm.

“We have a need and an opportunity here,” Patrick said.

Clearly, there is work needed to be done immediately to stabilize the region, he said, but at the same time, communities also need to take a long view.

“We need to focus on a long-term mission of revitalizing, not just rebuilding, but revitalizing our communities,” he said.

Patrick talked about the rebuilding as an opportunity for different and sometimes opposing sectors to work together, including state and local agencies, the public and private sectors, and business and labor. His administration is committed to allowing displaced residents and businesses to return to their neighborhoods, to rebuilding as quickly as possible, and to look for opportunities for job-creation, long-term sustainability and clean-energy development.

The crowd applauded when Patrick announced the Caring Health Center, which was heavily damaged when the tornado swept across Main Street in the South End, is going forward with an $18.7 million expansion project.

The center, which provides medical and dental care to 16,000 people, sustained close to $600,000 damage in the storm. The project should create as many as 75 construction jobs, and when completed will have as many as 125 permanent health care positions.

CEO Ann Awad praised her staff for continuing to work and care for patients, even though they themselves have been traumatized by the destruction.

Of the project, she said, “I hope it inspires the people of the South End as they see it rise.”

Murray, standing at center court for the basketball hall of fame, invoked the words of legendary Celtics coach Red Auerbach when he said rebuilding will require both tenacity and a sense of purpose to be successful.

“The spirit it there. It’s going to take time,” he said.

Gretchen Neggers, town manager for Monson, said the small town and its residents are trying to think about the future, but they are still coming to grips with the level of damage.

“Ever since June 1, everywhere I go everyone has a different story to tell (about the tornado), and every community has a different story to tell,” she said. “We are a town of 8,500 people. The last thing we wanted was to be on anyone’s map.”

The tornado went through the town center, causing damage to the police station, town hall, the senior center, library, and athletic fields.

“It has been a difficult event to process and to see as an opportunity. But we are trying,” she said. “We’re trying to get past the horror and see the opportunity.”

Springfield interim Development Director Christopher Moskel said the tornado cut a path 6.2 miles long and between a quarter-mile and a mile wide.

Eight of the city’s 17 neighborhoods sustained some damage. Three schools, the South End Community Center and 10 public parks were damaged, and up to 7,500 trees have been damaged, he said. “The city’s landscape has
been changed.”

Also 220 houses have been condemned, and 114 have been demolished. Some 3,300 rental units have been lost.

Seventy-four businesses were damaged and so far 47 have reopened, and 18 of those are in temporary quarters.

The city is proceeding with a public-private partnership to help with the rebuilding, and Moskel said it is also a priority is to do it as transparently as possible.

The focus is on rebuilding each of the neighborhoods.

“We believe the long-term revitalization of the city depends on strong neighborhoods,” he said.

The forum consisted of brief remarks by Patrick, Murray and Sarno, followed by reports by various officials with affected communities, state officials, and private industry leaders.

For the second portion, the audience broke into smaller discussion groups that focused on different elements for rebuilding, such as construction of energy efficient buildings, opportunities for entrepreneurs and for the local workforce, and ways to implement community planning.

Lara Shepard-Blue of the No One Leaves/Nadie Se Mude Coalition, a non-profit organization that aids people facing foreclosure and eviction, said afterward she was a little disappointed that the audience seemed to be made mostly of city and state employees and business professionals, but seemed to have few ordinary people or small non-profit community groups.

She said any effort rebuilding of the city needs to make sure that everyone, including low- and moderate-income people “have a voice at the table.”

When the federal disaster declaration was issued last week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a 90-day moratorium on all foreclosures of Federal Housing Administration mortgages.

Shepard-Blue said the coalition is calling on area banks holding private mortgages to do the same.

She said the hundreds of city people remain traumatized about losing their homes in the disaster, she said, “and no one knows how many evacuees are homeless.”

There are 144 people staying in the emergency shelter at the MassMutual Center, but Shepard-Blue said no one knows how many people who lost their homes are staying with family or friends.

Earlier in the day, Patrick in Boston signed a bill that will help pay for state costs associated with damage from the June 1 tornadoes in Western Massachusetts, and a state senator from Wilbraham said she would file legislation to help protect tornado victims from scams and unscrupulous contractors.

The $54 million bill signed by the governor includes $15 million to finance the state’s costs for the tornadoes including overtime for workers in agencies such as the National Guard, State Police and the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.

The state Legislature voted final approval of the bill on Monday.

The bill includes a measure to speed the process for cities and towns to borrow on an emergency basis. It also clears communities to provide property tax relief to property owners affected by the tornadoes. Property taxes for the fiscal year that starts July 1 would be based on the damaged condition of the properties.

With that bill now law, Sen. Gale D. Candaras, a Wilbraham Democrat, said she would file a bill to protect people from contractors or others who might attempt to take advantage of property owners in the wake of the storms.

Under the bill by Candaras, people would face state prison terms of up to 30 years and fines up to $1 million for defrauding or stealing from a victim of an emergency or major disaster.

In addition to the criminal penalty, the bill automatically suspends or revokes the license of state-certified contractors and suppliers and bars them from bidding or being awarded government contracts for a period of five years.

Registration for assistance at FEMA’s Disaster Recovery Center at Munger Hill School in Westfield has been sparse since it opened at 1 p.m. Monday.

Magaly Morales, relief specialist, said staff has assisted only 11 residents, as of mid-day Tuesday, in registering for possible federal financial assistance needed for home repairs resulting from the June 1 tornado.

But, she said response is expected to pick up as word spreads about the center’s location.

“We sent out community relations workers today to pass out flyers announcing the center operations here,” Morales said Tuesday.

The center will be manned daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., including Saturdays and Sundays when it will be open until 5 p.m., if necessary, to assist homeowners in need.

In addition to FEMA, state agencies such as the Department of Housing and Community Development, unemployment and insurance services also have representatives at Munger Hill to assist residents.

Morales said the center will connect residents with the National Process Service Center via a computer link. Based on information residents provide to that center, they will be referred to various programs.

Residents can also call (800) 621-3362 for assistance. City officials have said 250 homes were damaged by the tornado that hit Westfield first before moving into West Springfield.

In West Springfield, Health Director Jeanne Galloway said officials are still struggling to find housing for the many refugees who form the majority of the 90 or so people living in the homeless shelter the city has set up for tornado victims at the Eastern States Exposition fairgrounds.

Although there are some smaller apartments available in the community, Galloway said there are not many of the larger ones that the refugees need because they have big families.

Galloway said the city aims to get housing for everyone by July 1.

As of early afternoon Tuesday, FEMA’s disaster recovery center on the third floor of the municipal building had seen eight people for that day.

In Monson, the FEMA disaster center opened Tuesday at Granite Valley Middle School. Disaster Recovery Center Manager Kenneth F. Swain said approximately 35 people visited as of 4:30 p.m.

“It’s been steady,” Swain said.

Swain said it can be an overwhelming process for people after they have experienced a disaster, but the staff is there to help them.

Trevor N. Trott, owner of Nu-life Home Solutions on Washington Street, was there to find out about a small business loan. His house survived, but the garage and trailer on the property which housed his business, are another story. The garage is gone; the trailer is a total loss.

“All my stuff got tossed,” Trott said. “My tools are all gone.”

Comedian Bill Cosby visited the MassMutual Center shelter in Springfield for tornado victims on Tuesday. Cosby, a resident of Shelburne, spoke to staff with Red Cross of Pioneer Valley.

He expressed his thanks and his appreciation for the work they are doing.

After speaking to staff, Cosby met with citizens in Court Square. An announcement was made inside the shelter that Cosby was across the street and many went outside to see him, according to Steve M. Noe, a Red Cross staff member.

Republican reporters Dan Ring, Sandra Constantine, Ted Laborde, Lori Stabile and Kyle Newcomb contributed to this report.