Council Approves Resolution to Pay For Snowstorm

The Town Council unanimously passed a resolution that would allow $500,000 to be taken from a "rainy day fund" to be used to pay for Rocky Hill's response to Winter Storm Alfred at an emergency meeting Monday evening.

Town Manager Barbara Gilbert stated that Hurricane Irene had "depleted" the bulk of what the town would have used to cover the expenses caused by the October snowstorm. The town has applied to FEMA for reimbursement of the $258,000 used for Hurricane Irene and is expected to be reimbursed about 70%, Gilbert stated.

It is expected to cost the town about $500,000 for the services and supplies used during the snowstorm, with the bulk of the money going toward labor costs, Finance Director John Mehr said. However, some of the money would be used to pay for items such as the food used at the shelter and broken equipment.

"Without this, we would have an inability to work any overtime and take care of the roads if we have a bad winter," Gilbert said. "We cannot make this money up. A special apportion is needed."

Since the town and state were both under a state of emergency, the Town Council could pass an emergency ordinance without a referendum if needed for the "preservation of the public peace, health and safety," according to the town charter. Gilbert issued a state of emergency at 11 a.m. on Sunday after Gov. Dannel P. Malloy issued one for Connecticut.

However, the Town Council could not approve the resolution retroactively and Gilbert needed to know how to approach cleanup efforts such as increased hours of brush pickup.

Instead of borrowing money, which other towns are doing, Gilbert wanted to take money from "Fund Balance," which is basically a "Rainy Day" account.

"If this isn't a rainy day, nothing is," Gilbert said.

She added it could take up to 20 years to pay back some of the funds if the town borrowed the money.

A second resolution was created and passed to establish two accounts to be placed on the current budget. All money received from FEMA for Hurricane Irene and money received for the October snowstorm would replenish the "Fund Balance."

Before the resoultions were passed, there was about $3.5 million in the "Fund Balance" account, Mehr said. The town usually uses between $200,000 and $300,000 from the "Fund Balance" account each year. This year, the town will have used $868,000 from the "Fund Balance," including the money being spent to respond to the snowstorm. 

"I feel this is the cleanest way to do it. When you have a rainy day fund, you take it for a rainy day," Gilbert said. "Yes, we are going to take it a little lower than we are comfortable with. But, we are going to put it back."

The emergency shelter at the Community Center was open from Saturday at 11 p.m. until Friday at 7 p.m. and between 170 and 287 meals were served daily. Residents slept in cots that were set up in the gymnasium, Council Chambers and all but one activity room. The shelter only reached full capacity Tuesday night and some people were sent to the State Veterans Home.

Town staff faced several challenges at the emergency shelter. Two staff members had to work with two women with "extreme special needs" for 48 hours who had been dropped off by state workers, Gilbert said.

"Staff was unbelievable," Gilbert said. "We did everything we could for residents."

Police officers stayed at the shelter from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. each day and walked through the shelter once an hour. Gilbert had two people removed from the shelter by police for "inappropriate behavior."

Over a 96-hour period, the Rocky Hill Fire Department responded to about 170 calls for service, which included three small fires and one major fire. They also were called to "numerous fired circuit panels," Gilbert said.

The Ambulance Association made numerous calls and spent several hours helping at the emergency shelter. There was no exact number on how many calls that EMS workers responded to.

The Highway Department, which worked all weekend long, will continue to work from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to clear brush, Gilbert said. With winter around the corner, Gilbert wants to have as much debris as possible cleaned up before the next possible snowstorm, which could be right around Thanksgiving.

"We need all the brush off the side of the road before we have a liability, car accident or something because some of it (the brush) is impeding sight lines."

Rocky Hill Highway Superintendent Glenn Parent said all the brush and leaves should be picked up before Christmas. Residents are being asked to leave all debris and leaves curbside.

"Get it at the curb and let me do my job," Parent said.

The town department heads will hold a postmortem meeting in the coming week to discuss what could have been done differently during and after the snowstorm, Gilbert said.

In next year's budget, money will be placed in an emergency storm damage fund to prevent the Town Council from having to pass an emergency appropriation again, Gilbert stated. Money is also going to be put aside in next year's budget so the town can acquire items such as toothbrushes and blankets.

"We now know what we are going to need for the long haul," Gilbert said. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime (event)."