Ottawa County declares state of emergency

Tue, Jun 23, 2009

HOLLAND — Government officials said Monday that while they need to collect data on flood damage done to Holland-area homes, little — if any — financial aid would be coming to individuals whose property was damaged by Friday night storms.

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"It's very hard to say this, but there is no state or federal assistance for private damage," said Ottawa County Emergency Management Director Bill Smith. "Very frankly, we don't want to give citizens any false hope."

The full extent of the damage done by more than 7 inches of rain Friday night in the Holland area is unknown. But millions of dollars in damages to area roads, government property and public institutions are being reported — and millions more in damages to private property are apparent.

Ottawa County declared a state of emergency Monday morning. Similar declarations of emergency would have to come from the offices of Gov. Jennifer Granholm and President Barack Obama in order for local officials to apply for state and federal money to rebuild infrastructure.

"At every one of these steps of the process, as we move on, more resources will become available," said U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, at a press conference Monday. "We're hopeful."

Smith said he wouldn't have total estimates of damage in Ottawa County until receiving reports from the townships and cities.

Allegan County Road Commission Managing Director William Nelson said damages to roads in his area totaled between $2 million and $2.5 million.

Holland Mayor Al McGeehan said he didn't know the full extent of the damage, but he said he was aware of more than $1 million in damages just at Hope College and Western Theological Seminary. McGeehan said a commercial section of railroad had been damaged and an entire subdivision in Holland Heights had flooded basements.

Holland Public Schools Superintendent Brian Davis said water damage at Holland Heights School, West School and Holland High School would total more than $100,000. He said professional cleaning crews and about 40 volunteers from Central Wesleyan Church were working to clean it up.

Any help for individuals seems unlikely.

"There may be some money available for (damage to public property) — but for private residents, it probably has to be more extreme than what we've seen here," Hoekstra said.

McGeehan said that people seemed angry, and about 20 people had "marched on city hall" Monday morning to display their frustration with the lack of help.

Smith said that there was a possibility of low-interest loans for repairs to private property through the U.S. Small Business Administration. To apply for such loans, he said the county would have to identify 25 or more homes with a 40-percent loss in value due to structural damage.