Rising above tide in Westerly

ABOVE THE FRAY: A year after the remnants of Superstorm Sandy hit Rhode Island, Marcus McPhee’s house at 109 Atlantic Ave. in Westerly has been raised. / PBN PHOTO/BRIAN MCDONALD
ABOVE THE FRAY: A year after the remnants of Superstorm Sandy hit Rhode Island, Marcus McPhee’s house at 109 Atlantic Ave. in Westerly has been raised. / PBN PHOTO/BRIAN MCDONALD

When the sea comes in and washes through your house, it’s a disturbingly clear message that it’s time to elevate.
“We had 14 to 17 inches of water go through the first floor of our house” a year ago from the remnants of Superstorm Sandy, said Tom Retano, whose home on the Weekapaug Breachway that connects the Atlantic Ocean to Winnapaug Pond is going to be raised one story, about 11 feet or 12 feet, with funding assistance from a Hazard Mitigation Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Retano is one of eight Misquamicut homeowners who will receive a portion of a $678,000 FEMA award to the town of Westerly, announced Dec. 6.
For those getting the FEMA grants to elevate their homes, much of the work begins now.
Homeowners will have to get structural engineers, create drawings, find contractors and get three quotes on the cost of elevation projects, said Amy Grzybowski, director of planning, code enforcement and grant administration for the town.
Some of those projects will start moving along fairly quickly after the first of the year if there are no major variances required for issues such as height, but all projects will have to be approved by the town, said Grzybowski. More expansive and complex projects will take more time. The town is applying for additional hazard-mitigation grants, she said.
It’s all part of the recovery from the October 2012 damage left in Sandy’s wake that varies with each house and property owner, said Grzybowski.
“In general, Misquamicut has recovered very well. The majority of people got their work done last winter and were back for the past summer,” said Grzybowski.
“Many people are still in the process of starting to repair their homes, and some people are waiting for insurance funding,” she said. “We’re still seeing permits for people trying to work on their houses. “Recovery is a long process. It takes a couple of years, in most cases, to recover from any form of disaster,” said Grzybowski. “This is a small town, and it was impacted so heavily. It’s fortunate that most of these were second homes.”
Retano’s Misquamicut house with the ruined first level is his second home, but he’s planning to make it his primary home after it’s elevated and renovated.
“I’m nearing retirement, and we’re planning to move there full time,” said Retano.”I’ve realized I’ve been dreaming about living in a place like this my whole life. I’ve been to the Caribbean and it’s nice, but I think from Weekapaug to Watch Hill is one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the world.”
Retano lives in central Connecticut, and he and his family have owned the Misquamicut house for 10 years, going there in the summer and often on weekends throughout the year. Even though the second floor was not badly damaged, the house has been uninhabitable since Sandy hit.
“Everything on that first level was ruined – the furniture, the cabinets, the floors, the Sheetrock up to about 3 feet, the insulation,” said Retano. “I had to rip out the walls and put in a whole new electrical system.”
In February, Westerly began the process of applying for the FEMA grant for elevating homes, not for repairs, and Retano submitted an application.
“You had to jump through a lot of hoops,” said Retano. “It wasn’t an easy process. We had the government shutdown in there, too.” The grant money will be awarded to the homeowners in amounts ranging from $75,000 to $150,000, said Grzybowski. Grant awards will cover 75 percent of the cost of elevating the house and the homeowner is responsible for the other 25 percent. The 75 percent is paid after the elevation work is complete. In order to get a grant, no work can be done on the elevation prior to the grant approval.
Many homeowners are just forging ahead to get their damaged houses back into shape, without the financial assistance of a federal grant, and without the drawn-out schedule.
One of those is Marcus McPhee, who lives in Bristol, Conn., and who owns a home on Atlantic Avenue in Misquamicut that is getting an extra story.
“It was badly damaged. Basically, the tide went right through the lower part of our grade level and the washing machine, the boiler, the AC unit, the oil tank, everything mechanical got wiped out,” said McPhee. That level was poured concrete, used for the mechanicals and storage space, not living space.
But the living level got damaged by the storm, too.
“It took out the kitchen, the guest bedroom, the armoire,” he said.
The damage was doubly painful.
“We had gotten flushed out by Hurricane Irene, as well,” McPhee said of the storm that hit in 2011. “We just had remodeled the entire house prior to Sandy.”
McPhee got a height variance approved and moved forward with the added floor under the previous structure.
“It required a lot of paperwork and cost a ton of money, much more than the flood insurance covered, but we’re going for it,” said McPhee. “It’s a beautiful spot and we love it. We look forward to getting in there this [coming] summer.” •

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1 COMMENT

  1. While one has to sympathize with the homeowners, why does the taxpayer have to pay for storm mitigation. Houses by the ocean are clearly subject to risk from storms and rising sea waters (if you believe the “Global Warming” crowd. Development should be discouraged along the shores, or at least ensure owners pay for mitigation and damage themselves. Costs due to reckless decisions should be paid by the owners. And that includes flood insurance!