Springfield residents living in trailers next to their tornado-damaged home will receive free water and sewer use for a year, plus waive all turn-on and shut-off fees.
View full sizeWorkers from the Associated Building Wreckers work on removing some of the remaining walls of the building at 947 Main St. in Springfield, at left, which housed Square One day care center. The building was irreparably damaged in the June 1 tornado.SPRINGFIELD – The federal government will provide $3 million to create temporary jobs for Hampden County workers who lost jobs due to the June 1 tornadoes.
The grant, announced Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor, will bolster cleanup and recovery efforts from three tornadoes that tore through western and central Massachusetts, killing 3 people, destroying dozens of homes and businesses, and inflicting millions of dollars in property damage.
“By creating jobs, today’s grant will help repair the many public buildings and schools that sustained damage as a result of the severe weather,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.
Details of the grant, including how soon the jobs will be created and how much each community will receive, were not available Thursday.
The grant was awarded to the Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development, with funding targeting Westfield, West Springfield, Springfield, Wilbraham and Monson.
Two weeks after the storms touched down, the Federal Emergency Management Agency declared Hampden County eligible for FEMA’s Public Assistance Program. Additional counties may be included under the grant if FEMA determines such inclusion is warranted, Solis said.
U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, said the grant will help Hampden County clean up from the worst natural disaster in a generation and also help the workers hired to do the cleaning up.
“This grant is another example that the people of western and central Massachusetts are getting the resources they need to rebuild their homes, businesses and lives,” he said.
Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno expressed similar sentiments, noting that the job program will “not only help to rebuild structures and infrastructures, but also help people to rebuild their lives.”
At the MassMutual Center in Springfield on Thursday, Siena College men's basketball coach Mitch Buonaguro presents a $5,000 check to the Pioneer Valley Red Cross tornado relief fund on behalf of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, which will be holding its championships in Springfield. From left, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno; Maureen Hayes, Board Chair, American Red Cross Pioneer Valley Chapter; Marissa Skibbe, Director of Marketing for the MassMutual Center; and Buonaguro.Also in Springfield, residents living in trailers next to their tornado-damaged homes also got good news: The city will provide free water and sewer use for a year, plus waive all turn-on and shut-off fees.
The offer, announced by Sarno, is available to anyone living in temporary housing on their own property, and expires as soon as residents return to their actual homes.
Approximately 220 properties were condemned in Springfield due to storm damage, most of them homes and apartments, said Sarno and Katherine J. Pedersen, a representative of the Water and Sewer Commission.
The average annual water and sewer bill for homeowners is about $600, Pedersen said, noting that families are likely to use less water living in a trailer.
Also in Springfield, Caring Health Center, 1030 Main St., has reopened to serve its patients.
In other tornado-related news, the state Division of Insurance said 9,500 claims for $175 million in damages have been submitted by property owners in Hampden and Hampshire counties.
Insurance companies have received 5,000 personal insurance claims, totaling $135 million in storm damage; during the same period, 1,000 commercial property claims, with a price tag of $20 million, have been filed, along with 3,500 auto insurance claims, totaling $20 million.
In West Springfield, the city's temporary shelter for tornado victims will close on Friday, Mayor Edward J. Gibson said.
Earlier this week, 56 people were still living at the Moses Building at the Eastern States Exposition, but as of Thursday all but one had found housing, Gibson said.
“The last person was looking at apartments. We’re keeping our fingers crossed,” Gibson said.
The Majestic Theater also raised $10,358 for tornado victims from two recent concerts featuring well-known local acts, including Mitch Chakour, Floyd Patterson and Frank Manzi.
The money will be split between the families of Angelica Guerrero and Sergey Livchin, two West Springfield residents killed in the storm, and the town’s Park and Recreation department to be distributed to local tornado victims.