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Dec 05, 2017
The City of Rehoboth Beach received a payment from the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) totaling $924,316.28, as reimbursement for expenses that occurred because of a severe winter storm in January 2016. The reimbursement was for Boardwalk and stormwater outfall repairs, and city staff labor associated with the storm event. FEMA declared this storm a disaster for coastal towns along the Atlantic Ocean. During this storm, high winds and near-record high tide conditions caused a significant amount of sand to wash onto the Boardwalk. The Streets Department estimated that approximately 740 cubic yards of sand were removed between February 1-5, 2016. City laborers, using city equipment as well as rented equipment, were utilized to remove the storm-related debris. Sand was returned to the beach with permission from DNREC. Also lost was approximately 600 feet of sand fence. Costs associated with debris removal, equipment rental, and employee overtime was $21,956.20. Also damaged during the storm was the Maryland Avenue stormwater outfall. The outfall sustained damages to the heavy timber support cribbing as well as the 36-inch iron ductile pipe. The Maryland Avenue and Virginia Avenue stormwater outfalls were included in the city’s capital budget for 2016-2017 to be repaired. When the storm occurred in January 2016 and further damaged the Maryland Avenue stormwater outfall, FEMA permitted the repair to be covered and included under FEMA’s emergency declaration for 75% reimbursement. “This payment shows the dedicated efforts of our staff to use taxpayer resources wisely and efficiently. Special thanks are due to Streets Department Supervisor Mike Peterman and his staff for their demanding work assessing and cleaning up after this storm, in addition to representatives from the Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) who assisted to shepherd this process through,” said City Manager Sharon Lynn.
