'Looking toward solutions': Public's mood is good, says mayor, after catastrophic flooding

LEOMINSTER – Tony Mazzaferro was in shock after a massive rainstorm and flood hit Leominster Monday.

"Today, I’m looking toward solutions,” said Mazzaferro, three days later Thursday as he looked at significant damage to a building that he owns off Water Street that houses the Tilton & Cook Market Place.

The devastation is considerable, as items poured out of one corner of the building where walls were washed away and the foundation crumbled. Mazzaferro thinks the damage runs about $1 million and he’s working with his insurance company to figure out the next steps.

“I would like to repair it,” said Mazzaferro, whose demeanor was extremely calm for someone who didn’t have flood insurance that could potentially cover the costs. He said his banker didn’t recommend the extra insurance because the building is not located in a flood zone.

Rising waters in the Monoosnoc Brook caused the destruction and the waters were still moving at a rapid pace Thursday. Monday night when the storm was at its most severe, Mazzaferro said the building’s parking lot was under 2 feet of water and the power from the water knocked out part of the foundation. Large granite pieces made up the foundation and many of them are out of whack, precariously close to falling into the brook.

More: Road repairs go deep after Leominster flooding

The damage doesn't end there. A section of the building that is suspended over the brook had its construction footings weakened by the powerful flood. That section now hangs lower over the brook than it once did.

At a Thursday afternoon press briefing at the Leominster public safety building, Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella said people need to stay out of the building. City inspectors will go through it to determine if it's structurally safe. If not, then Mazzarella said the owner will have to fix it. If that doesn’t happen, then the city will move ahead with demolition and will recoup all costs from the owner.

That’s not Mazzaferro’s only headache. His building on Carter Street that houses the Cardinal Comb & Brush Manufacturing Corp. was flooded with 6 inches of water.

“We got the water out,” said Mazzaferro, who has many decisions to make about his Water Street building in the days ahead.

Bridge gone: Temporary road on the way

In other developments, Mazzarella said a 1,000-foot temporary road will be built to replace the Exchange Street bridge destroyed in the floods. Construction will start right away and it’s a short-term fix so several homeowners can get back to their properties. The temporary road will be built behind the high school and the state Department of Transportation and the MBTA will assist with the job.

A more permanent solution could happen in the winter, said Mazzarella. The option of replacing the washed-out bridge with a temporary one isn’t possible, the mayor said, because the ground that supported the former bridge was damaged in the storm and can’t handle the weight of a replacement.

More: Giving up is not an option: Leominster café reopens less than two days after flood

Get the streets open

“Clean up mode” and getting all streets open, plus drying out basements in homes is how Mazzarella described the current first phase of response.

On Friday, schools in Leominster will open two hours later than usual, largely due to many roads down to one lane that makes it hard for buses to get kids to school.

Schools reopened two hours later on Thursday after they were closed Tuesday and Wednesday. At the Northwest Elementary School, Michael Ocasio dropped off his son, Magnus, so he could get back to his first-grade classroom.

“I’ve never seen that kind of stuff. You usually only see that in the news,” Ocasio said of Monday’s storm. “We were lucky. Our house didn’t flood.”

Jacqueline Louzda brought her children, Sophia and Guilherme, back to the Northwest School after two days off. Their home had some flooding, but the family applied towels to soak it all up.

“The storm was scary,” said Sophia. “I thought we were going to die.”

Northwest School parent Gladys Escobar and her son Ivan Diaz arrived early for dropoff.

“It was very stressful,” said Escobar as she recounted barely making it home Monday when rising waters reached the halfway point of her driver's side door.

“Thank god I made it home,” she said.

'Massive sinkoles': One of many challenges in Leominster

Leominster faces 117 problem areas, said Mazarella, including what he called “massive sinkholes.” The city pumped out the basements of all homeowners who requested it, said Mazzarella, and dumpsters will be placed at Doyle Field Saturday and Sunday so residents can dispose of destroyed items. More dumpsters will arrive in the days and weeks to come.

Total damage is assessed at $25 million to $35 million, said Mazzarrella, and the city isn’t at the point of knowing how much relief money it will get from state and federal governments. Meanwhile, five homes are uninhabitable and over 100 had flood damage, as far as those the city is aware of.

Private donations are coming in and Community Development Block Grant funds are available for families who qualify.

Restaurants will reopen Saturday

On the economy front, Mazzarella said most businesses are open and the expectation is that most restaurants will reopen Friday night.

All dams in Leominster are safe, said Mazzarella. Work to stabilize Barrett Park Pond dam is finished. Monday’s storm caused a gaping hole beside the dam, which is classified as a “significant hazard” dam by the state. That means the potential for significant loss of life and property damage is possible if the dam were to ever fail.

To stop the spread of mold in flooded homes, volunteer groups will start going to homes Saturday morning to help remove damaged furniture and carpets and clean indoor areas. The goal is to finish that work over the weekend, said Arthur Elbthal, Leominster’s director of emergency management, so residents don’t inundate city streets with throw-away items.

More: 'Wakeup call': Leominster floods show risks posed by deficient dams in Mass.

Good mood in Leominster

Summing up the situation in Leominster, Mazzarella said the work continues and thanked residents for their patience.

“People are confident in what we’ve been doing,” he said. “This is a major catastrophe. The (public’s) mood is good. They see us working hard and we’re moving as quickly as we can.”

Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on X: @henrytelegram.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Public's mood is good, says Leominster mayor, after catastrophic flood