RUMFORD — Town officials continue to wait and hope that the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its Maine counterpart will reimburse Rumford for storm damage.

On Aug. 28, Tropical Storm Irene dumped 6 inches of rain on the town in just a few hours, washing out the Swain Road bridge over Bean Brook. Additionally, Isthmus, Beliveau, Eaton Hill and Glover roads were severely eroded, and Milton and Kimball roads were damaged.

Overall, Irene caused an estimated $340,000 in damage, Town Manager Carlo Puiia said Tuesday morning.

“I know we had originally expected somewhere in the $400,000 range, but it did come to that $340,000,” he said.

The Public Works Department has already repaired most of it, with the exception of the Bean Brook Bridge on Swain Road, which was temporarily spanned with a logging bridge.

On Oct. 20, selectmen unanimously approved a bid of $99,855 by George Roberts Precast Concrete Products of Alfred for a concrete box culvert. They also voted 5-0 to hold a special town meeting to authorize use of the Undesignated Fund Balance money to buy and install the culvert.

Puiia said Tuesday that FEMA reimbursed Rumford $9,054 already, but that was only for emergency claims on smaller projects.

He said $5,000 went toward minor road projects like grading on shoulders that had washed out.

The $4,000 went to the Fire Department to help with overtime costs associated with emergency calls from people who were flooded and other such minor costs.

“Because it relates to the storm, they had to file a claim for damages that happened during that period,” he said.

“Federal shares of the small projects — those under $63,900 — have been processed, so anything that exceeds that amount then falls into the permanent work category.”

That funding help has yet to arrive.

He said he spoke Monday with a FEMA official and learned they’ve received all of Rumford’s paperwork and are now reviewing it.

“And they were going over what we had in our mitigation plan that may be considered refundable,” Puiia said.

“So if it was already in our mitigation plan to do some of these projects, that gives them the ability to consider funding a portion of some of those projects, such as the Swain Road’s Bean Brook sections.”

Puiia said that if the box culvert planned for the Bean Brook Bridge mitigates future claims, FEMA would consider providing some funding toward it.

“That’s what we’re hoping, that there is a possibility where we had Swain Road at Bean Brook in our mitigation plan,” he said.

“Again, we’re somewhat at their mercy to decide whether or not they would contribute to that improvement.”

“I think the town, no matter what, wants to do what’s right, and knowing that we’ve had problems there, we would use what funds we have available to make that improvement,” Puiia said.

“When you look at the life of a fix like that, overall, it’s going to be saving us money to not have to be concerned that, one, it would happen again, or two, that erosion would eventually eat away at your roads and damage your culverts.”

He said FEMA would fund at 75 percent and he hopes that the Maine Emergency Management Agency would provide 15 percent, leaving the town a 10-percent burden.

There hasn’t been any word, however, from MEMA.

“I’m not sure how fast that funding will come through,” Puiia said of the FEMA money.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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