This page was exported from Caledon Citizen [ https://caledoncitizen.com ] Export date:Thu Apr 25 7:01:23 2024 / +0000 GMT ___________________________________________________ Title: Residents urge council to waive permit fees for Bolton Flood victims --------------------------------------------------- Written By JOSHUA SANTOS A few Caledon residents asked the Town to waive permit fees for homeowners affected by the Bolton flood, as well as create a disaster handbook. Sherry Brioschi, Marion Upshall and Mira Budd – who was absent from the meeting, speaking with a local non-profit organization - spoke to residents who were affected, relaying their concerns to Town Council. “What we witnessed was distress, distraught, residents with loss of hope and no feeling of assistance so far, for so many reasons,” said Brioschi. About 250 people in Bolton were evacuated from their homes after a heavy flood spilled on the streets on Friday, March 15. Six ice jams, that blocked the flow of water, caused the Humber River to burst its banks. Caledon OPP, York Regional Police and other emergency personnel rushed immediately on the scene blocking King Street East between David Street and Evans Ridge. Brioschi said Upshall and her spoke with a resident whose house was severally impacted. Her insurance company denied her family's claim. “Our hearts shattered,” said Brioschi. “She broke down in tears and we can only imagine what was running through her head.” In speaking with other families, Brioschi said they found out many families were denied insurance. “I'm not here to bash, but I need you all to understand what is really going on, on site, down there, aftermath devastation,” said Brioschi. She said one of the major concerns they heard were residents asking where the Town went with much clean-up to do. Brioschi said their goal is to eliminate the feeling of being left behind. “Please give us time and them time to understand this process,” said Brioschi. “With that, we are asking to please let us come back to council, if need to be, to delegate with any concerns on the process.” She asked Council to set up post command centre and contact each resident personally to guide them through the process of revitalizing their homes. They thank Ward 5 Regional Coun. Annette Groves and Ward 5 Area Coun. Tony Rosa for working with the residents. “I am going to stand here and say to councillor Groves and councillor Rosa, thank you for not turning us away,” said Brioschi, with a crack in her voice. “Thank you from the three of us. We came to you, you listened us, the five of us have met many times and we have accomplished so much in such a short period of time. That's exactly how team work, works and I am proud to stand here today and work with these five people.” They asked the Town waive permit fees for all those affected, fast track their permit requests with two department heads and develop a resident disaster handbook for future incidents. “The goal here is to give back hope and help to rebuild what they lost,” said Brioschi. “You have now a few scenarios where Caledon may help these people. Let's work in partnership, please,” said Brioschi. She said the problems do not go away after first responders and councillors leave. She said solutions and guidance need to be implemented by elected officials. “We would like to introduce an idea, an aftermath emergency committee created to talk to people face-to-face, help guide them on their next steps and give them information to gain knowledge, check on them, give them emotional support and in turn, hope is restored,” said Brioschi. The group also proposed an economical approach saying town staff could work to source out all businesses that supply HVAC installation, building materials, and plumping supplies among many other services.   She also discussed the idea of a disaster handbook, with possible step-by-step restoration process, the rebuilding process, emotional support from Peel Health among many other things. “It's kind of like a homeowners manual or a car manual,” said Brioschi. “This alone will show a create deal of support from the Town of Caledon back to the people.”  --------------------------------------------------- Images: --------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Post date: 2019-04-11 11:48:30 Post date GMT: 2019-04-11 15:48:30 Post modified date: 2019-04-11 11:48:38 Post modified date GMT: 2019-04-11 15:48:38 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Export of Post and Page as text file has been powered by [ Universal Post Manager ] plugin from www.gconverters.com