City Provides Two Avenues of Relief for Residents Affected by Flooding
Date: 04/22/2016
First, on April 20 council approved the request from the CAO and public works to waive the tipping fees for residents living in specific sections of roads that have been confirmed by staff as flood impacted. The city has waived tipping fees through May 4, 2016. The flood event is now in recovery stage as water levels have receded and officials don’t anticipate any further significant flooding.
The process requires the owner of the flood-damaged goods or household garbage to provide appropriate confirmation of address that their house or property is within the affected area. Contractors are required to pre-notify that they are bringing flood-damaged goods on behalf of the owners. For full details on the program and contact information, please see the press release issued April 14, on the city’s website at this link: http://www.city.kawarthalakes.on.ca/news/city-waives-tipping-fees-for-residents-affected-by-flooding
Second, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has requested information from the City of Kawartha Lakes to understand better the flood situation in light of the Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians program.
The Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians program is a provincial program that is activated when a sudden, unexpected natural disaster causes costly and widespread damage to eligible private property.
The municipality is in the information-gathering stage now and is in the process of assisting the ministry with this task. The program is designed to help people affected by natural disasters to get back on their feet. It provides assistance to individuals, small businesses, farmers, and not-for-profit organizations that have experienced damage to or loss of essential property. It is not a substitute for insurance.
The province relies on municipalities to provide information about disasters in their community to help determine whether they fit the criteria of the Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians program. Residents who have flood damage are invited to call the City of Kawartha Lakes at 705-324-9411 or 1-888-822-2225, extension 1293, by May 4, 2016. Please be prepared to answer the following questions:
When did flooding affect your property?
In what community is your impacted property?
Is your affected property your cottage or your primary home?
Has your small business, farm or not-for-profit organization been impacted?
What is the nature of your damage?
The Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians program has not been activated in the City of Kawartha Lakes. Residential reporting of damage will be used to assess whether the municipality is eligible to activate the program. For more information on the program, please go to www.ontario.ca/disasterassistance.
