Monson to recieve $2.9 million from FEMA

Monson was granted nearly $2.9 million for post-tornado clean- up in an announcement made by U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, four days after the six-month anniversary of the June 1 storm.

Neal announced on Monday at the First Church of Monson that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will give the town $2,887,541 for debris removal and disposal, about 60 percent of the actual cost.

“We are very grateful to receive the reimbursement,” said town administrator Gretchen Neggers. “But, we have a long way to go.” The debris removal alone has cost the town of Monson $4.7 million according to Neggers.

In an interview with MassLive, Neal said, “What I think you want to do is see the good side of this. It’s $2.9 million they didn’t have.”

The town hired Ashbritt Enivromental, a debris removal company based out of Florida with experience in thirty federally declared major disasters in eleven states according to the company’s website, at the recommendation of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. The bill for its services has yet to be paid.

The roughly $2.9 million FEMA reimbursement is the most substantial aid for tornado recovery to the town thus far.

The agency has pledged to reimburse the town for 75% of the damages, although has recently faced criticism for the speed that checks for recovery efforts are received as the six month mark passes.

The total cost of damages by the tornado has been estimated at $6.4 million.

During the last week of November, the town was reimbursed $465,000 for costs of emergency response crews within the first 70 hours immediately following the storm.

Lindsey Davis can be reached at lmaried25@gmail.com.