Politics & Government

Town: Irene Cost Estimates Total $450,000

FEMA officials met with the Town Police Department on Monday to discuss reimbursement for damages caused by the tropical storm.

Tropical Storm Irene may not have been as bad as some weathermen predicted, but Riverhead did not emerge unscathed. The town suffered about $450,000 worth of overtime fees, equipment use, and damages, according to Town Police Chief David Hegermiller.

"We got most of it submitted, so it's basically the reimbursement for overtime and for equipment usage," Hegermiller said. "But then there's other things to reimburse, like the contractor's expense to haul the debris over to Brookhaven to burn ... some equipment damage."

Tropical Storm Irene struck Long Island on Aug. 28, . Upstate New York, New England, the Carolinas and New Jersey took the brunt of the storm's power.

Find out what's happening in Riverheadwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Hegermiller added that $450,000 was a "ballpark figure" and that the town would reach the full total soon.

The town met officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Monday in Riverhead to discuss reimbursement for the costs of the storm. Hegermiller said FEMA has put their focus on upstate New York due to the more severe damage there and so didn't meet with Riverhead officials until nearly three months after the storm.

Find out what's happening in Riverheadwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I've been complaining all along [to move along the process], to no avail," Hegermiller said. "I guess the state was overwhelmed with all the damage that happened upstate."

FEMA officials and the town also discussed how to "get the ball rolling" on  whose homes were damaged in floods in April 2010, Hegermiller said. The grant will be used to from the April nor'easter.  


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