Flood damage prompts disaster declaration in Hollidaysburg
Hollidaysburg residents able to report property damage
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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Hollidaysburg Borough Council approved a disaster declaration at Thursday's meeting as properties throughout the borough experienced damage from flooding after the heavy rainfall on Aug. 22 and 23.
With the declaration, residents are able to report their property damage, but are not guaranteed eligibility to receive disaster relief assistance.
After the meeting, Borough Manager Ethan Imhoff said that during the storm, the borough had rain gauge reports of 2 to 5 inches, causing damage to several residents' homes.
To report property damages from a disaster, Cris Fredrickson, operations and training coordinator and interim coordinator for Blair County Emergency Management, said property owners must fill out a form online at www.blaircountypa.gov/departments/emergency-management/flooding-storm-damage.
On the form, property owners will select the emergency event that they are reporting and provide personal information.
Six Hollidaysburg residents have filled out the form so far. However, in order to be eligible to receive any kind of assistance, there has to be a significant amount of damage to at least 25 properties in the municipality, Fredrickson said.
While she understands residents' frustrations, Fredrickson said that there are certain criteria for what is considered "damage" to a property and whether funding will be issued.
"Damage is not a little bit of water that got in the basement. Damage is having things that were actually destroyed from this event, which would be if a wall collapsed, there are cracks in the foundation, their water heater or furnace is broken, a tree that falls, or the roof is blown off, those kinds of things," Fredrickson said.
If a municipality meets the requirements to obtain funding, the amount will depend on the damage and what the property owners have already fixed and plan to fix on their homes, Fredrickson said.
Imhoff said once the county knows how much and what type of funding will be available, applications will be released for property owners.
"The borough takes flooding issues seriously, and has been working with residents very closely to find solutions to improve conditions in flood prone parts of the borough," Imhoff said.
Gaysport issues
Throughout Hollidaysburg, several stormwater management projects are taking place, which are aimed at reducing flooding in parts of the borough, Imhoff said. While efforts are in place, recent storms have made a large impact on Gaysport residents, an area of Hollidaysburg that has faced flooding issues for years.
During the meeting, several Gaysport residents spoke out in gratitude for the borough staff and some in frustration about their property's destruction.
Elda Boose speaks at nearly every Hollidaysburg Borough Council meeting, offering insight, expressing her feelings and giving updates on the community and what they've experienced.
On Thursday, Boose acknowledged the struggles of Gaysport residents and issues with drainage systems, but she also recognized the improvements and differences that the water management projects contributed.
"Thankfully, this time the damage was localized, and I believe the progress that has been made on the stormwater project has played an important role," Boose said. "Your efforts are giving Gaysport residents something we desperately needed for a long time. Hope and reassurance."
Heather Bert had a different experience, as her basement was flooded with four feet of water and mud. She expressed her doubts about the success and effectiveness of the Gaysport stormwater management project.
"I'm not a happy borough resident," Bert said. "I don't think this project is great. We had mud that I'm still cleaning out and filled a dumpster of all my kids stuff. Y'all should go home and find your most proud achievement and slam it in mud and try cleaning it out."
Over 15 years, Bert said she has had five floods in her home and that this one could have been prevented, but the construction "dug a road that brought water to our house."
While she was upset about the incident, Bert thanked the police and Amy Hazlett, director of community facilities and water operations, for helping her the best that they could.
"This is part of the reason we're doing the project because unfortunately when you get that much rain in an hour or an hour and a half, there's no way to hold back that water, there's just not," Imhoff said.
Imhoff said their contractors, Krieger Excavating, were onsite the day the rain started and worked through the weekend to make sure the storm water controls were in place. The following Monday, the Conservation District inspected the project site and confirmed that everything was in regulation.
When there is a lot of rain, Imhoff said properties could face problems as "it's an act of God situation."
"We certainly understand the frustrations of the residents and there were a lot of negative impacts," Imhoff said. "I hate it for our residents that have flooded basements and have negative impacts but in terms of what could be done or something that could be done to make sure there's no negative impacts, I just don't have an answer."
In other news, all council members approved a new three-year labor contract with the Hollidaysburg Police Department Association, which will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027. The contract includes a 6% annual pay increase for the three years.
For the first time in several years, Imhoff said the borough has a full staff of nine in the police department. That includes the new addition of Officer Jason Barr II, who was sworn in at the meeting.
"Though the borough police department and Civil Service Commission have been very proactive in terms of finding qualified candidates to serve, it's our hope the new contract will incentivize not only recruitment, but retention of police officers," Imhoff said.
Council also approved to increase the parking time limit in Zone 2 from two to three hours after introducing the idea at last month's meeting. Until the Borough Public Works crews can update street signage that reflects the time change of three hours, the two hour time limit will remain in effect.
Mirror Staff Writer Jayla Nartatez is at 814-946-7535.