Penn Twp. works to inspect, repair flooding damage
PENN TWP - Nine homes in the township were a total loss from the floods that resulted when the remnants of Hurricane Ivan passed through Butler County on Sept. 17, township officials said.
Another 13 homes had major damage, and another three had minor damage, township manager Greg Primm said. Five homes were deemed uninhabitable, he said.
Township supervisors discussed the impact of the flood Tuesday night at their meeting.
Tom Knights, the township's building inspector, and Clinton Bonetti, the zoning officer, inspected homes for damage last week, Primm said. All were in the Renfrew and Dutchtown Road areas, which were hardest hit in the storm.
The people whose homes were destroyed were not living in them when they were inspected, Primm said. The Butler County chapter of the American Red Cross is helping people find homes.
The township has spent $15,000 to $20,000 having storm debris hauled away under an agreement with Vogel Disposal Service of Mars, Primm said.
The cleanup is progressing, and the Dumpsters on Main Street in Renfrew will be removed by the weekend, supervisors said.
"They'll be there until the end of the week, then they'll be removed," supervisor Doug Roth said.
Township workers, volunteer firefighters and police have spent three weeks helping clean up from the storm. First, there were the rescue efforts. Then they had to deal with the damage.
There was $105,000 damage to culverts. Roads had to be repaired. There were overtime expenses for police and road department workers. And some township equipment was damaged and that will need to be repaired or replaced.
Officials are still tallying up the costs.
But Roth pointed out, "People needed help. We had to help them out."
"We're going to be reimbursed for this cleanup," said Sam Ward, chairman of the supervisors.
Primm said he is filling out forms to send to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for reimbursement.
Because the area was declared an emergency area by both the state and federal governments, the costs of the disaster will be covered, Primm said.
