Residents who suffered property damages from June’s heavy rainfall will now have an opportunity to access provincial government disaster recovery funding.
This week, the Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) announced a disaster-assistance program to help Albertans recover costs incurred to repair damages to principle residences, following the June weather events.
Mayor Lois Maloney is pleased a relief program will soon be available to residents in the community.
“Now that the disaster-recovery program’s been announced, it will give residents who did have some damages due to water seeping into their residences or place of business, they can now make application, through the program for some assistance.”
The town is asking residents to make applications for the program in person on Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. in the meeting room at the community complex.
Information regarding the program will be on-site, and town staff will be available to assist residents with applications. If an application is approved, a disaster-recovery program evaluator will be contacting applicants to make an appointment to inspect damaged property.
Applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis by program evaluators who will review applications. Applications will not be eligible if insurance is reasonably and readily available, and also excludes roof and window seepage for water entering premises and causing damage. Not all losses will be eligible for compensation.
“They have typical general limitations for the maximum amounts per category,” said Maloney. “They have an example that says the maximum they allow for a living room suite is $2,000, and if an applicant lost one sofa, they would just receive a portion of that available amount. They have guidelines as to how much they will assist with, but each case will be handled individually. If the application is filled out and sent back to the program office, and if they deem that the application qualifies, then evaluators, who are professional assessors or appraisers, will be calling the applicants to make an appointment to view their property. And then an award or determination will be made from there.”
Maloney indicated that the problems that were being experienced in the community as a result of water seepage and sewer back-ups have been largely rectified. But she wasn’t ruling out the possibility of problems in the future.
“Definitely — there are no current problems, and there’s no new problems, because we haven’t had the rain. Now, if we get some large amounts of rain again, or precipitation of any sort, I would say that there is a possibility of the problem re-occurring.”
Effected residents were encouraged to engage in necessary clean-up efforts and procedures as soon as possible, according to Maloney, and will be eligible to try to recoup some of those unexpected costs through the disaster assistance program. 
“They were advised to go ahead and do the things that they felt were necessary to be able to live in their homes, and to be safe, because there are health concerns there as well.”
Residents should be aware that any supporting documents regarding costs of clean-up or other information will not be required at Saturday’s application session, as this will be required later as part of the assessment process through the program evaluator.
“We’re not taking any documents other than the application itself. The evaluators will be the ones that require the documentation. They didn’t want all of the information along with the application, they wanted to first assess the application, to see if it qualifies, and if it qualifies, then an evaluator will be calling individually to make appointments to view their effected buildings.”
Maloney reminded residents that although they may be eligible for some financial assistance through the program, they shouldn’t expect to recoup all of their losses.
“I’m really glad that our residents will have this opportunity to get some compensation through the disaster recovery program. I think it’s been a stressful time, and this will help them somewhat. It’s not insurance, so there’s not a dollar-for-dollar recovery, but it should help them through some of the processes that they’re going through right now.”
Right now, Maloney isn’t aware of a time-frame for when successful applicants might receive their disaster assistance.
“They might let us know on Saturday. They’re going to do an orientation with our staff prior. But I think the volume of applications — because it’s not just us, it’s the entire province that may be requiring or needing this disaster assistance. It’s for everybody. So I think it will depend upon the volume of applications that we have, and their time frame. We don’t have any indication as to when money will actually be coming.”
Those unable to attend the Saturday session will be able to fill out and submit an application on July 13 and July 14 from 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m., and during regular office hours through July 30 (8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.) at the Vauxhall Town Office.