Flooded Dixie seeks dollars
Legislators tour flood zone; need for financial assistance growing
"You can't really imagine the magnitude until you see it for yourself," said Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, who joined 11 other elected officials for the half-day visit to Washington County.
The need for financial assistance is growing by the minute, said Santa Clara City Manager Matthew Brower, who showed the group of lawmakers one of the most heavily damaged sections of his city.
"The general fund budget in Santa Clara is $2 million, and we estimate our disaster cost to be $10 million," Brower said. "We only have $300,000 to spend on repairs. That's a big disparity."
Santa Clara, a bedroom city of 5,500 residents with little commercial tax revenue, lost about 4,000 lineal feet of its main sewer trunk line. The city only recently was able to cap off the raw sewage spewing into the Santa Clara River from that break, Brower said.
But the fix is only temporary and requires sandbagging the city's five manholes, pumping the sewage and then transporting it to another location for the next two to three months, he explained. Repairing the $1.1 million line is complicated because the ground itself was washed away.
House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, said Saturday's trip helped legislators focus on reality.
"It gives you an actual perspective on the extent of the damages. We're going to be asked, and rightfully so, to assist with loan programs or grants," he said. "These are multimillion dollar decisions, and they need immediate, short-term assistance."
During a working lunch meeting at the Washington County Commission chambers, Valentine said he would meet Tuesday with Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and other staff to review the state's options.
"We will see what we can constitutionally do to assist these communities," he said. "Hopefully, we'll be more nimble and quick than the federal government. I think we can (do that)."
Curtis said he was especially numbed to see a massive river channel instead of a bridge on Valley View Drive.
"I played with my kids in the creek at Mathis Park, and that's gone," he said. "Unfortunately, the loss to the private sector is significant."
President Bush is expected to sign a federal disaster declaration for the flooded region, which would provide 75 percent of the amount needed to repair eligible public projects. Preliminary damage estimates for public and private losses could total more than $150 million.
St. George City Manager Gary Esplin said there is $75 million to $85 million in damage to public infrastructure.
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