Rain damage leaves Nackawic officials scrambling to find funds to carry out repairs on washed out streets

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Last weekend's torrential rains, which washed away parts of some Nackawic streets, may have also washed away some of the town's budget plans.

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PHOTO BY JIM DUMVILLE

Denise Albert, the reigning Miss Nackawic, and Kolby Connor dropped by Old Bridge Road Monday evening to check out the severe damage to the residential street. Crews are already at work digging up the street to make it passable for traffic.

As they wait for public works supervisor Tim Cluff to secure a cost estimate of the washout damage, Mayor Rowena Simpson and members of council have already been preparing for the bad news. Early this week, members of council held an emergency meeting to discuss potential budget adjustments to free-up damage-repair funds.

Mayor Simpson said council and department heads understand some sacrifices will have to be made. Repairing the severe damage will have to take priority, the mayor explained.

During Tuesday's council session, Mayor Simpson said some important capital purchases may have to wait until next year. She used the town's plans to purchase a skid-steer loader as an example.

"Tim (Cluff) is disappointed he may not get the loader," she said, "but he understands."

Mayor Simpson said town officials have already talked to representatives, York North MLA Kirk MacDonald and Tobique-Mactaquac MP Mike Allen, to see if there would be provincial or federal funds available to help cover repair costs. They are still awaiting answers.

Acting chief administrative officer Karthryn Clark said council and staff will study several budget options to deal with any developing budget shortfall.

"We're asking all department managers to tighten their belts," Clark said. "Even if government funding is made available it might take awhile to get the money."

Clark said Cluff and his town crews have been on the run since the heavy rains Sunday evening and Monday morning.

"We haven't seen much of Tim since Monday," said Clark.

While town crews temporarily patched or maintained washout areas on Otis Drive and Pinder Street, the washout which took almost half of Old Bridge Road will require major construction.

Sunday's heavy rains left a five-foot-deep crater which, in some sections, reaches beyond the centre of the street. Ironically, one of the worst sections sits directly in front of Mayor Simpson's driveway.

The mayor said she went outside during the rainstorm and couldn't believe what she saw and heard on the street. She said ankle-deep water raced down the street which slopes towards the St. John River. She said residents could hear the water flowing from inside their homes.

"It was just like a fountain," she said.

In the days following the storm, Mayor Simpson and her neighbours had to gingerly zig-zag barricades and deep craters to travel in and out of Old Bridge Road.

Clark said, as of Thursday, crews were already at work trying to make the street safe for traffic.

"They're digging it up today so it's passable," she said. "They'll be travelling on a dirt road for awhile."

Only last year, the town laid new pavement on the street.

Much of that is now laying at the base of the five-foot-deep crater.

Clark said the severe washout at Old Bridge Road indicated a problem with the street, and it must be addressed as it is rebuilt, she said.

"We want to repair it as soon as possible," Clark added, "but we want to do it right."