As efforts continue in the coming days to help victims of last week’s record flood — including the Juneau Assembly scheduled to vote on $1 million in emergency funding during a meeting Monday at Centennial Hall — a flowery celebration of a large-scale fundraising effort offered an upbeat moment on a downtown cruise ship dock Thursday evening.
About a dozen “Bollywood flash mob” dancers performed and revelers threw bucketloads of rose petals in the air during a celebration of India’s Independence Day at Elizabeth Peratrovich Plaza in part to present a donation to the Juneau Community Foundation. The foundation has revived a Mendenhall River Flood Relief Fund started after a similar disaster last year, which as of Thursday evening had raised at least $150,000, according to John Pugh, the foundation’s president.
“It’s just been an outpouring of people to help with the relief,” he told a crowd of local residents and visitors during a break in the performances when a $10,000 donation from the Downtown Business Association was presented to him.
People throw rose petals in the air during a celebration of India’s Independence Day on Friday at Elizabeth Peratrovich Plaza. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The Independence Day event was organized by Nimmy Philips, who’s hosted other holiday celebrations from her homeland as the owner of Spice Juneau Indian Cuisine, who said the money presented Thursday night came from businesses along Franklin Street. Pugh said large-scale businesses and organizations are also donating including major cruise lines and the Rasmussen Foundation.
Nearly 300 homes were damaged by this year’s record flooding that peaked during the early morning hours of Aug. 6. Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a state disaster declaration — allowing people to apply for individual disaster assistance that covers up to $22,000 of damage to residences and $22,000 for belongings inside homes — but officials and residents have said damages to many homes goes well beyond those sums.
A crowd of tourists and local residents watch a “Bollywood flash mob” dance at Elizabeth Peratrovich Plaza during a celebration of India’s Independence Day on Friday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
People can apply for the foundation’s relief fund until Oct. 30 and the funds will be distributed equally in December among the applicants, according to the foundation’s website. An online donor form, and information about donating by mail or phone, are also at the website.
Assembly to consider $1M in emergency funds
The Assembly is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. at Centennial Hall due to maintenance issues in the Assembly Chambers at City Hall. The meeting, which will be available online via Zoom and YouTube, will include an update about flood response efforts.
Assembly members are also scheduled to consider an emergency appropriation of $1.055 million for flood-related purposes.
“This funding would provide for damage assessment, sheltering assistance, environmental and waste cleanup, repairs to existing CBJ infrastructure, and resources (people, equipment, supplies) for flooded structures,” according to a summary in the meeting’s agenda. “CBJ will seek State or federal reimbursement for eligible costs incurred in response to the glacier outburst flood. Funding for this request is needed as soon as possible to authorize CBJ to incur expenses associated with flood response. For this reason, this is an emergency resolution.”
Specific costs in the resolution to provide the funding include $150,000 for removal of debris and waste, $400,000 in emergency repairs to the Mendenhall Wastewater Treatment Plant, $355,000 stormwater system damage, and $150,000 to begin evaluating the feasibility of mitigation measures against future floods.
Public testimony will be taken before an expected vote on the funding. People wanting to testify via Zoom must contact the municipal clerk’s office at (907) 586-5278 by 4 p.m. Monday.
Updates on other flood assistance and recovery work
• Debris collection crews will continue to be on the streets from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, according to the City and Borough of Juneau’s website. Furthermore “if you’re just starting to tackle some big tasks, you’ve still got plenty of time — CBJ will continue to make pick-ups throughout the clean-up effort.”
• The Melvin Park volunteer center will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, according to CBJ. “At this time, we have made major progress tackling the most urgent drying and mucking out needs. Over the weekend, the center will focus on dispatching trained volunteers to homes still in need of help.” People needing help or wanting to volunteer can sign up at bit.ly/juneau-flood.
• The American Red Cross is also continuing to provide immediate financial assistance. People can call (907) 646-5467 to make an appointment at the Red Cross assistance center.
• People needing meal support can contact Petr Janousek at The Salvation Army at petr.janousek@usw.salvationarmy.org.
• People suffering home or property damage in the flooding can apply for partial property tax relief from the CBJ Assessor’s Office. Applicants should include the form and photos of damage, which can be sent by email to Assessor.Office@juneau.gov or by regular mail to 155 Heritage Way, Juneau, AK 99801. People with questions can call the assessor’s office at (907) 586-5215 ext 4033.
• Complete and up-to-date flood recovery resources and information are available at juneau.org/manager/flood-response. Questions can also be sent to email floodresponse@juneau.gov.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
