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HOMES EVERY WEEK! Times of Ti
January 4, 2020
suncommunitynews.com
• EDITION •
FEMA to provide storm money Aid approved for public storm damage; status of individual aid pending
Grant to help sewer system from overflowing
By Tim Rowland STAFF WRITER
ELIZABETHTOWN | The federal government has declared 18 North Country counties to be a disaster area eligible for financial aid as the result of damages from the 2019 Halloween Storm, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced last week. The disaster declaration applies only to public-works damages at this point. The state is also asking for individual aid to help those whose homes were lost or damaged, but the status of that request is still up in the air. The state and local governments estimated damages from the heavy rains and wind topped $33 million, both in response costs and infrastructure damage. That left FEMA to verify the state’s estimates. “This approval is the next step toward gaining financial assistance from the federal government to allow local communities to continue to recover and rebuild,” the governor’s office said in a statement. Through FEMA’s Public Assistance program, reimbursement can be received for activities such as debris removal, emergency protective measures and the repairing and rebuilding of publicly owned infrastructure, including roads, public schools, bridges, parks, hospitals, police stations, fire houses, water and wastewater treatment facilities and other public facilities. The 18 counties included in the declaration are Chautauqua, Chenango, Cortland, Erie, Essex, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Montgomery, Oneida, Oswego, Otsego, Saratoga, Tioga and Warren Counties. “The federal government has validated our experts’ assessments on the damage this storm caused to public infrastructure, but it is only the first step in getting the assistance we need to help these communities build back,” Cuomo said in a statement. “I was on
C'.tMAfPLAIN ~ALLEY
Portage project wins $5 million By Tim Rowland STAFF WRITER
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More than 100 state roads, such as this one in Hague, were washed out by the Halloween storm of 2019. Photo by Tim Rowland
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the ground the morning after the storm and witnessed firsthand the severe damage sustained by hundreds of homes, and the federal government must now do its part to ensure these families immediately get the funds they need to repair and rebuild their lives.” Cuomo said he hopes the state’s request for help under the Individual Assistance program will be approved as well. The state reported that 18 homes were destroyed, 135 sustained
major damage, 136 sustained minor damage and 110 were otherwise affected by the storm. With the issuance of the federal disaster declaration, the State’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services will work with local partners to identify recovery projects to apply for reimbursement through the Public Assistance program.
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TICONDEROGA | Ticonderoga will be able to complete utility and street upgrades to The Portage more quickly than anticipated, after receiving a $5 million state grant. Supervisor Joe Giordano said town officials got the news as they were meeting with their engineering consultants over how to phase in the project. With the grant, the town will be able to complete the project all at once. “It’s a wonderful Christmas present,” Giordano said. “This allows us to do a lot more than we thought we could.” The project will have multiple benefits, but most notably it will keep the runoff from heavy rains out of the town’s wastewater treatment system. As it stands now, the rains flood the sewer lines and the overflow runs into the La Chute river without being fully treated. A certain amount of this is allowed by the state, but it’s not an ideal situation. The project will replace utility trunk lines on the Portage — a street running from the downtown out toward Lake George — from Cannonball Path to Alexandria Street. Storm water will be diverted into a dry, man made creek bed behind the Community Building and into the river. It will be lightly treated, with debris and sediment removed, but it will not go through the costly treatment process at the sewer plant. The creek “basically mirrors nature,” Giordano said, with pools and aeration that improve the environmental impact. The $13.8 million project also included upgrades to the treatment plant itself, and will rebuild the Portage, which has been paved over multiple times and is a bit raggety in spots, with attractive sidewalks flanked by grass strips, roadside parking and proper drainage that will extend the life of the pavement.
See FEMA » pg. 5
See PORTAGE » pg. 3
Contractors in the classroom Lord Howe to teach a lesson in the trades Stock photo
CLEAR PICTURE OF A CLEAR LAKE Lake George clarity continues to impress By Tim Rowland STAFF WRITER
TICONDEROGA | The waters of Lake George continue to show impressive clarity, a good sign for water quality, according to testing conducted by the Lake George Association. The testing was performed over the summer by staff and volunteers, who sank a metallic disk — known as a Secchi disk — into the water until it could no longer be seen. “At the Diamond Island sampling location (the location managed by me and our staff ) the water clarity – or transparency – readings ranged from 5.8 meters (19 feet) on June 4 up to 9.2 meters (30.2 feet) on September 10, meaning we could still visually see the Secchi disk from the surface at those depths. The readings are similar to what we saw in previous years,” wrote Kristen Wilde, LGA director of education in a December report.
By Tim Rowland STAFF WRITER
TICONDEROGA | Ticonderoga’s totemic Lord George Augustus Howe has contributed much to the community’s storyline, and now he’s about to add a new feather to his considerable cap: a lesson in the trades. In a meeting of art and education, students from Ticonderoga High School will be designing and building a shelter for a heroic sculpture of the British officer, which will be located between the Community Building and North Country Community College. It’s hoped that Lord Howe will be the fi rst of a number of historical figures to be represented throughout Bicentennial Park. The idea came from Roberta Whiteley, a Ti resident, and the creator of the Ti’Coustics musical coffeehouse. Her group raised the money for the project and commissioned the carving from Ken Packie of Lee, Mass. Packle finished the work, but it
Mike Uchal’s classroom will be the home for the Ti Alliance Cntractors in the Classroom program. Photo provided has yet to be delivered because it needs protection from the elements. That’s where the Ti Alliance became involved, turning the artwork into a multi-layered learning experience. Beginning in January, the Technology and Design Classes at Ti High, under the direction of teacher Mike Uchal, will be designing and building a shelter for the new sculpture. T he prog r a m , k now n a s Contractors in the Classrooms, will involve other elements of the community as well, said Donna Wotten,
director of Ti Alliance, a nonprofit economic development group. The project will require multiple skills with career potential: design, architecture, mechanical/ civil engineering, excavating, concrete, carpentry, electrical, roofing, masonry, landscaping, and welding. Ti Alliance is seeking out local contractors involved in these disciplines to come into the classroom to explain how each would work, in relation to the Lord Howe project. See CONTRACTORS » pg. 3
See CLEAR LAKE » pg. 3
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