Markham eyes provincial disaster relief funds

Holding special meeting Tuesday on declaring disaster zone

 

Markham Economist & Sun
January 13, 2014
By Amanda Persico

Markham city hall is hosting a special council meeting Tuesday do discuss declaring the city a disaster area in hopes of receiving funding from the province in the wake of the Dec. 22 ice storm.

To get money from the disaster relief assistance program, the city will have to pass a resolution declaring the city a natural disaster zone.

After that, it is up to the province’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to proclaim the area a disaster zone.

Markham’s response and recovery costs add up to about $13.2 million, which includes the cost of replanting and replacing some 10,000 damaged trees.

Under the relief funding program, the city has up to 14 business days to pass a disaster area resolution and to officially request funding.

The cutoff date is Jan. 14.

Municipalities within disaster areas proclaimed by the province are eligible for up to 100 per cent of uninsured damage to municipal infrastructure.

The province’s disaster relief program will cover items such as clearing and removing tree debris, overtime costs for city employees or those hired for disaster response efforts, activation of municipal emergency operations centre, emergency communications, repair and restoration to pre-disaster condition of uninsured community facilities, such as parks and infrastructure, and evacuation and shelter costs.

Insurance deductibles, equipment costs and lost revenues are not eligible under the province’s relief program.

Also, the cost of replanting trees does not fall under the province’s relief funding program.

Response and cleanup costs for Markham are estimated at between $2.6 million and $3.5 million, which includes the city’s immediate response and cleanup efforts.

The city is estimating between $7 million and $10 million for replanting and replacing trees.

Later this week, Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion is to host a special meeting with mayors from across the GTA whose cities were affected by the December ice storm to discuss a co-ordinated approach to cleanup assistance from the province.

Mississguga is reporting $25 million in damage from the Dec. 22 storm.

Last week, York Regional council voted to ask the province for disaster relief assistance, should the provincial municipal affairs and housing ministry declare the GTA a natural disaster zone.

Damage from the ice storm across the GTA could exceed $250 million. Toronto is reporting about $106 million in damage costs.

Toronto also voted in favour of declaring the city a disaster zone as well as for asking the province for assistance.

If the province does not declare a disaster zone, the region also urged the province to consider providing funds through other means to help with damage done by the pre-Christmas storm.