The Avalon City Council voted unanimously to declare a local State of Emergency for Catalina Island at a special Tuesday, Sept. 2 meeting.
Passing a resolution declaring an emergency was necessary for the city to have a chance to obtain money to help recover from the effects of last week’s wave surge caused by Hurricane Marie off the coast of Mexico.
The Avalon City Council voted unanimously to declare a local State of Emergency for Catalina Island at a special Tuesday, Sept. 2 meeting.
Passing a resolution declaring an emergency was necessary for the city to have a chance to obtain money to help recover from the effects of last week’s wave surge caused by Hurricane Marie off the coast of Mexico.
The council approved a resolution declaring the emergency that asked the governor to declare the entire Island a disaster area, according to City Attorney Scott Campbell, who participated in the meeting by telephone.
According to Campbell, the resolution referred to the entire Island, not just the city of Avalon, in order to include the Catalina Island Conservancy, which is outside the city’s jurisdiction.
Campbell said the resolution would be sent to the governor’s office and he hoped the state would declare an emergency.
He said the city was asking for money to help with the recovery and to relax applicable laws to help with the recovery.
Council Member Oley Olsen asked if the emergency declaration would take the California Coastal Commission “out of the loop.”
Campbell said staff was trying to see what regulations could be waived as part of the restoration.
According to City Manager Ben Harvey, the city had to approve the State of Emergency resolution to even be eligible for county, state and federal funds.
Staff had prepared a preliminary assessment of the damages caused by the storm. According to the Initial Damage Assessment Overview, the storm caused more than $15.6 million in damages. Those figures included $3.8 million to $4.8 million in damages to Pebbly Beach Road, $17,000 to the Green Pier and $10,000 for mooring repairs.
The figures are considered preliminary.
Council Member Joe Sampson asked if Avalon could add to the list of damages that had been overlooked during the assessment.
Harvey said yes.
Sampson said he was sure it would be hard to make a complete assessment.
“We have 10 days to be in the window of allowed eligibility,” Harvey said.
Dennis Jaich, interim director of Public Works, said staff provided rough estimates in the assessment overview.
He said it appeared that the Mole suffered additional damage from the surge.
Harbor Master Brian Bray said the Harbor Department had been removing debris as boats call in reports. He said the Harbor Department had gone out as far as 1 and 1/2 miles to collect the debris.
Some of the items Bray said the Harbor Department had picked included up pilings, and 2X4s.
Mayor Anni Marshall said the city might get some relief from the city’s insurance.
Harvey said another thing the council had to consider is the loss of revenue.
The council voted 4-0 to approve the resolution. Council Member Richard Hernandez had an excused absence Tuesday night.
On Wednesday, Sept. 3, Harvey said he didn’t know how long it would take the governor or other agencies to review the Avalon emergency declaration.
Harvey said he expected state inspectors to arrive on the Island in a few days.
He said city staff was working with the county and state so business and the city may benefit from whatever financing is out there, including grants or low interest loans.
He also said staff was working with the city’s insurance representatives.
As for the storm’s impact, Harvey said Avalon was getting back to work. “We were open for business immediately,” he said.
Harvey said it seemed as if there were fewer visitors than normal for the Labor Day Weekend, but he had no numbers. However, the Island still had “a number of folks” in town. He said the Island was becoming a year-round resort.
