Mahoning, Trumbull seek emergency funds

The criteria for reimbursement will be announced later.
& lt;a href=mailto:yovich@vindy.com & gt;By TIM YOVICH & lt;/a & gt;
and STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
Mahoning and Trumbull counties have declared emergencies so they can apply for flood-damage funds.
Linda Beil, director of the Trumbull County Emergency Management Agency, and her Mahoning counterpart, Walter Duzzny, said the action will allow the counties to apply for state and federal funds.
Applications will be made through the state EMA to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, they said.
Beil said the funds are designed to reimburse local government for employee overtime and replacement or repair of equipment lost to flooding.
She pointed to the Trumbull County 911 Center in Howland as being eligible for funds because it was flooded Monday, forcing dispatchers to abandon the building for a mobile command center, a recently re-fitted mobile classroom now parked in the building's lot.
Warren Police Department is answering 911 calls that would normally be routed to the county center, said 911 director Tim Gladis.
Police Capt. Tim Bowers said the number of police communications officers has been increased from two to three to handle the additional volume. Communications officers are in radio contact with dispatchers in the mobile command center, who then radio to safety services workers and officers in the field.
The situation is expected to last at least a few more days, Bowers said.
911 center damage
Equipment valued "into the six figures" was destroyed by water pushing up storm drains and pouring through a wall at the 911 center Gladis said. He said the equipment is insured, but it will be weeks before everything can be replaced.
He said he will ask county commissioners to look into a new building for the department.
"This has happened once; it can happen again. It's a nightmare," he said.
The emergency designation will also allow property owners to apply for money to clean up flooding. Those with flooded basements are not eligible for funding.
Beil said payments to property owners will depend on such things as whether the property is insured or if it's located in a flood plain.
The criteria for reimbursement will be announced later.
Duzzny said only 32 percent of property owners in Mahoning County have adequate insurance to cover flood damage.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Duzzny estimated the damage in Mahoning at about $1 million to 80 homes and 10 businesses.
That doesn't include damaged interiors or vehicles.
Other trouble spots
The heaviest damage is centered on Youngstown's East Side, from Wilson Avenue north to the city limits; the West Side and Austintown experienced the most flooding, Duzzny said.
Most roads, however, had cleared off by Tuesday afternoon.
"Low-lying areas still have water, but we're in pretty good shape," he said.
Gary Kubic, Mahoning County administrator, said an assessment of staff time and damage to equipment is under way.
Beil said she has been unable to survey all the damage because of rain in Trumbull where flooded and damaged roads remain a problem.
A culvert under Oriel Rodgers Road in Liberty collapsed from the rain, leaving a 15-foot hole.
State Route 46 in Niles, between McKees Lane and Salt Springs Road, a frequent trouble spot during heavy rainfalls, was closed, as was Buckeye Trailer Park, behind U.S. Route 422.