Storm cleanup hits $4.1 million in Kane County

Responding to and cleaning up damage from last month's storms cost Kane County $4.1 million, officials learned Tuesday.

The county is seeking a $3 million reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which could release the funds if the county is named a federal disaster area, said Don Bryant, director of the county's Office of Emergency Management.

"We are ready to make a claim," Bryant told the county board's public health committee.

Bryant hopes to receive a response from FEMA in the next few weeks.

The $4.1 million estimate also includes damage to public buildings, roads and infrastructure, Bryant said, and the overtime salaries of emergency response personnel. Damage to private homes and businesses is still being assessed.

Last week the Kane County assessor mailed property reassessment forms to the owners of 659 property owners identified as having sustained storm damage. Those people might be eligible for property tax relief.

Three weeks ago a team of disaster response officials from FEMA and other government agencies toured flood-damaged areas in the Tri-Cities and northern Fox Valley. They assessed damage at Geneva's Mill Race Inn, the Valley View area of St. Charles Township, the Richardson subdivision in Dundee Township, an Elgin mobile home community and a neighborhood in Algonquin.

Major storms on Aug. 23 and 24 felled trees, knocked out power throughout the Chicago area, and raised the water level of the Fox River and its tributaries, flooding basements and even the first floors of some buildings.