BY ADAM ATKINSONNorth Country This Week

POTSDAM — Potsdam residents  who found their homes inundated during the August flood are in a waiting game, along with village and town officials, for word of a federal disaster declaration for the event.

The declaration could open up the taps for financial aid to pay for damages that are not being covered by residential insurance policies.

“Everyone is wondering,” Village Mayor Alexandra Jacobs Wilke told North Country This Week. The mayor said the village has been conferring with county and state officials on the disaster assistance question, and now all of the parties are waiting on the federal government to make a decision.

“There is nothing more anyone can do to spur this along. Everyone is pressing for it,” she said.

However, the mayor said it seems to be a positive sign that the Biden Administration issued a disaster declaration for an earlier flooding event that occurred in July.

She was hopeful that the severe flooding that hit the North Country in August would get a similar designation.

“Right now it's a bit of a waiting game and we recognize that that’s frustrating,” Wilke said.

The mayor said she and other municipal officials have been fielding questions from residents regarding the aid. The village is trying to provide whatever assistance it can by directing those affected by flooding to fill out the appropriate forms provided by the county and the state and work with their insurance companies for the time being.  

The mayor is urging residents to save all of their recipients for repairs and insurance forms which detail what is covered. Aid that residents eventually receive will only pay for what isn’t covered by their homeowners policies.

In the meantime, Wilke said the state is offering $50,000 emergency repair grants through the New York Homes and Community Renewal that can be used for qualifying repairs not covered by insurance.

Residents can apply online at click https://tinyurl.com/nhd7tr3d .

In addition, the county’s damage self reporting tool form can be accessed at https://tinyurl.com/5n8mcm43 . The tool is gathering information that could help local and state officials develop requests for federal financial assistance for flood damage.

“Even if you think you don’t qualify, fill out the form,” Wilke said. The mayor said the information received by the state could help influence a final decision on a federal disaster designation.

There is some urgency for financial assistance for village residents facing expensive furnace repairs before the cold weather starts.

“I feel terribly for people,” Wilke said. “They are in the situation where they have to finance these things up front.”

Residents left wondering

Flooding in the village of Potsdam is not new for residents living along the village’s mostly subterranean Crosstown Canal. Those homeowners, especially those living on Pleasant Street, have been hit with flooding in recent years due to excessive stormwater coming from outside of the village.

At the village board meeting earlier this month two village residents, Paul and Patrice Cole of Pleasant Street, expressed frustration with the situation, especially in light of the fact they have been through the recovery process once before after their property was hit with a flood in 2014.

Patrice Cole asked the village board members what recourse village residents may have if federal aid doesn’t come through.

“Where does that leave us? Is the state going to do anything if the federal government doesn’t? Because this is times two. It’s been very costly,” Patrice Cole said.

The couple said they had to replace much of their heating and electrical systems after the 2014 flood and are facing damages again this time around.

Paul Cole said after the 2014 event, he has never really had a clear picture from village officials of what mechanism caused the flooding. There doesn’t seem to be a study or document which goes over current flooding causes and how to alleviate it.

“I haven’t seen that paper yet,” Paul Cole said. “Nobody really gave us something that says what really happened. And, it was devastating for us and the other families that live on the street.”

Cole also brought attention to a private Facebook group of local citizens called the Potsdam Flood Free Coalition that wants to see infrastructure improvements to alleviate the flooding. That group can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/groups/potsdamfloodfreecoalition .

At the meeting, the mayor said she would also like to see a comprehensive document and study on how the flooding occurs. She suggested that older engineering studies be updated to give a current picture of what can be done to fix the issue.

“So we can tell the story, and frankly that story will help us explain to these granting agencies how dire the risk is and why we need some funding to fix it,” Wilke said at the meeting.

In a recent conversation with North Country This Week, the mayor said the village is in the process of looking at ways to reduce stormwater runoff and flooding issues in the future and finding funding for infrastructure improvements that could alleviate the results of severe weather events. The village plans to update several stormwater management studies that have been done over the years to better reflect what is happening currently with stormwater when heavy rains come.