FEMA Reimburses Brigantine $1.6 Million For Sandy Repairs

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will reimburse Brigantine $1,600,000 for cleanup following Superstorm Sandy, Brigantine Chief Financial Officer Christian Johansen confirmed on Wednesday, March 27.

Brigantine is also awaiting a response for an additonal $270,000 request for reimbusement put in to FEMA, and is expecting to submit another request for about half a million dollars, Johansen said.

FEMA approved Brigantine for the $1,600,000 late Tuesday night, according to City Manager Jennifer Blumenthal. The request was for $2.2 million, meaning FEMA fulfilled 75 percent of the submission. The request was to pay subcontractors for debris cleanup following Superstorm Sandy, which touched down in Brigantine on Oct. 29, 2012.

The city has submitted an additional request for $270,000 to pay for salaries and overtime for employees related to emergency repairs. These expenditures were unknown at the time of the initial request, Johansen said. According to Johansen, the city expects 75 percent of that request to be reimbursed by FEMA.

The city is currently putting together a submission for between $500,000 and $1 million for infrastructure repairs, Johansen said. This includes repairs for pumpstations, bulkheading and drainage problems. The city also hopes for 75 percent reimbursement from that request, Johansen said.

"We're currently identifying additional projects and putting together a list for what needs to be done to mitigate the impact of future storms," Johansen said.

Those projects remain unknown, as does the amount the city will be requesting from FEMA. The mitigation request is due April 1.

Brigantine was one of the five barrier islands in Atlantic County in which residents were told to evacuate prior to the storm. In the days after the storm, President Barack Obama and Gov. Chris Christie took a tour of the island.

The city has recovered from the storm, and resembles what the island looked like in the days prior to Sandy. In the days following the storm, Galloway Township provided aid to Brigantine in the cleanup, including use of fire trucks. Earlier this year, Brigantine Mayor Phil Gunther and members of the Emergency Management team appeared at a Galloway Council meeting to thank the township for its assistance.

"Contractors and Atlantic City Electric were out the next day (after the storm)," Blumenthal said. "They did very well with the cleanup. We were told we were way ahead of the curve in terms of cleanup. I'm very proud of the way we handled the storm."