Westwood to Receive Federal Aid for Snow, Ice Removal Budget

A bit of relief in the form of federal aid is looking to come into the Town of Westwood for its snow and ice removal efforts in one of this winter's biggest storms.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced this week that federal disaster aid was made available to Massachusetts for local recovery efforts in counties struck by .

The federal funding will be available to eligible local governments and certain nonprofits on a cost-sharing basis, according to a FEMA news release Monday; the funding will be provided for Norfolk, Middlesex, Suffolk, Essex, Hampshire and Berkshire counties.

What's more, FEMA is providing assistance to eligible local governments on a cost-sharing basis for certain emergency protective measures, according to Monday's news release. Those measures include snow assistance for a continuous 48-hour period during or close to the time period of the January storm for all six counties, save Berkshire County, which can receive assistance for a period of 72 hours.

"It's much appreciated in the current year," said Westwood Town Administrator Mike Jaillet Wednesday afternoon. "Because (the storms this winter) did stretch us to the very limit. We had been hoping for a bit of relief."

Snow removal efforts in Westwood have been tiresome for officials, stretching the winter budget well beyond the original $250,000 the town had allotted for such efforts before the winter began.

In late January, the Westwood Board of Selectmen and Finance Commission both . Then, in early February, .

Now, in order to receive reimbursement from the federal aid being offered, Westwood officials will gather to determine how much money was spent during that specific storm in early January, said Jaillet, who estimated the cost to be between more than $50,000 and possibly upwards of $75,000. That cost will then be submitted to FEMA for subsequent reimbursement.

"Generally speaking, on these disasters, we get 70 or 80 percent from FEMA," Jaillet said. "Then we get either 10 or 20 percent from the state, and we absorb 10 percent of the cost for any emergency. So, in the end, we get about 90 percent, in total, most of which comes from the federal (level), some of which comes from the state."

It wasn't immediately clear, Jaillet added, under what criteria FEMA would reimburse the town (for example, if only work done by contract workers would be reimbursed). A workshop will likely be held to help clarify to officials how they should submit an application for reimbursement, he said.

The Westwood Department of Public Works, which , is more than willing to welcome any additional help in funding.

"I think we had 16 inches during those storms (around January 12)," said Westwood DPW Director Vicki Quiram. "So it was a large storm. It was one of 14 storm events that we have been dealing with this year, so I'm very hopeful for any help we can get."

Jaillet was in agreement, and said while the reimbursement would only be for one storm, every little bit helps.

"That amount of money is not insignificant," he said. "It's not huge, but it's very much appreciated, and again, it may make the marginal difference for us about what we have in available funds to pay the snow and ice deficit that we have. So it's timely."