Portland is requesting more than $3.2 million in federal disaster aid to cover the costs of responding to the record-setting snow and ice storms that ravaged the city’s roads, water pipes and power lines in January.
Removing snow and ice from the city streets proved the most expensive, costing the city an estimated $1.6 million, city documents show. Removing debris and repairing traffic signs and markings cost the city an estimated $570,000. Repairing water main breaks cost about $500,000.
The city gave Multnomah County an initial damage assessment outlining those costs and others Thursday.
The assessment provides a rough estimate of the cost of responding to the storm in order to determine whether or not the city meets a threshold the federal government uses to decide disaster reimbursements, said Dan Douthit, spokesman for the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management.
If the federal government grants aid, the city will further examine its storm spending, he said.
“Even if we’re above the threshold, which we believe we are, it doesn’t guarantee us getting the money,” Douthit said.
Portland Bureau of Transportation spent more than $2.2 million– the most of any bureau–in response to the storm, the assessment showed. The water bureau spent about $635,000; the fire bureau spent about $151,000 and the parks department spend about $141,000.
–Jessica Floum
jfloum@oregonian.com
503-221-8306
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
