Prince Albert city council has taken the first step towards helping property owners hit hard by storms on June 1, June 5, and June 25.
Council gave their approval to a request from the City’s public works department to have Prince Albert designated an eligible assistance area by the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA). That would allow property owners to apply for aid under the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP).
Jeff Da Silva, the City’s acting Director of Public Works, said they are still working out how residents will be able to apply for aid, but they wanted to make sure the opportunity was there.
“We didn’t receive this and review it until shortly before the meeting, but we sure wanted to make sure that we got this is so we could open it up as a potential avenue for residence to get some assistance,” Da Silva said on Monday.
Da Silva said they’re expecting applications for about 20 properties that were damaged during the three storms. He said the level of damage varied from property to property.
The City of Prince Albert is eligible to submit an application for damage on municipal property, Da Silva wrote in his report that the impact to City infrastructure was “quite limited.”
Mayor Greg Dionne said the City needs apply first before residents can follow. He was pleased the City of Prince Albert was even allowed to file an application.
PDAP disaster assistance is only available for overland flooding and seepage damage, but not directly from sewer backups or back flow preventer failures.
Da Silva wrote in his report that it’s not clear whether Prince Albert residents will be eligible, but recommended they proceed with the application to try and provide an additional avenue for assistance.
The most recent storm on June 25 saw heavy rain and marble-sized hail pound Prince Albert during the afternoon.
The storm was so strong it flooded several streets, including large sections of 15th Street East.
Environment Canada reported rainfall levels of 19.7 mm on June 25, along with 17.7 on June 1.
