Markstay-Warren Mayor Sonja Flynn said she doesn't know how much money the municipality will receive, but it will share in up to $18 million to help pay for flood damages.
The municipality declared a state of emergency April 19 after heavy rain and rapidly melting snow forced the closure of six area roads. Another two roads were closed in the following days. In some places, water had risen more than 13 feet, Flynn said. A section of MacLean Road washed out completely.
The province announced Thursday that Markstay-Warren is one of 13 areas that will receive disaster funds through the Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program.
Funds will be doled out under two different kinds of support: one that helps municipalities respond to emergencies and repair public assets and another that helps individuals and businesses get back on their feet and replace essential property.
"We don't know the details, other than we've been recognized as a disaster," Flynn said. "I'm more than pleased with that, because it could have went either way. This disaster could very well have been deemed an act of God."
Depending on which scenario the province takes with Marsktay-Warren, and if the municipality is successful in getting all of the funding for which it applied, it could receive around $250,000, she said. But, the municipality needs at least $100,000 just to get everything back to normal.
The municipality has already spent about $80,000 to get the roads back into shape, she said. MacLean is the big-ticket item, and the municipality has big plans for the stretch of road.
"We're looking at upgrading to larger culverts there," she said. "There's a dangerous curve on that road, and we have a plan to realign that stretch of road, so we've included a number of scenarios in our application to the province."
Provincial criteria is to replace the roads the way they were, but if Markstay-Warren were to do that with MacLean Road, it would likely wash out again in the next ice storm due to the culverts being too small.
"We're keeping our fingers crossed that they'll go for the realignment scenario, but we're just thankful that we're getting some money back. That would be a big thing for municipalities the size of Markstay-Warren, because it does ease the burden for taxpayers."
The Ministry of Transportation uses MacLean Road as a detour when other roads are blocked for some reason, she said. It's her hope the MTO will contribute to the upgrades.
Although an engineer's report revealed only minor damages to both the Nepewassi and Sutcliffe bridges, water levels need to recede in order for the engineer to conduct a more thorough inspection, Flynn said.
"Both bridges are back to full service, but the repairs still have to be done, and we don't know what's below the water," she said. "The water was up 13.5 feet at Sutcliffe bridge. It's hard to imagine. The situation will have to be re-evaluated, but I've been assured that if there is more damage, we can add it to the application."
The municipality was give several weeks to put together a cost estimate and submit it to the province. Municipal councillors passed a resolution at a special meeting on May 6 to send the final financial report.
Flynn said the the municipality was advised on Tuesday they were getting funds.
"It's a sigh of relief for this municipality," she said. "For a municipality of this size, when you take $70,000 or $80,000 out of the budget, it is certainly felt. We just don't have the tax base to cover it all."
