Weekly Cleanup Edition

Message from the IHC President

by Scott MacPherson, IHC President

Greetings Islanders,

We have accomplished a great deal in the eleven days since the devastating storm that damaged our island. Our community has been faced with similar challenges before and we are relying on the strength of the whole which has truly been greater than the sum of the parts. Moving forward, the Board of Directors is planning on frequent IHC member emails to update the community on our progress. Please take a look at what we have been up to and where we are going next. Reach out to me or any board member if you see a place where you might contribute to the effort. We want to hear if there is something that you would like to do that is not listed here, as well! Every bit counts as we move forward together.

What we have done:

Insurance claim was submitted expediently.

Full damage assessment reports were submitted to the town of Georgetown and the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), to support efforts to obtain State and Federal funding for disaster relief.

Debris on the island and in the harbor and surrounding areas was secured.

Electricity was disconnected to the island on the mainland. The electrical infrastructure was inspected. Damaged or unsafe lines were isolated and secured. Power was restored to the remainder of the island.

Recovery work has begun and groups have been organized to tackle the most immediate tasks.
What we are doing:

We have delegated tasks into sub groups that are working to coordinate estimating and engineering the recovery efforts

Communication/Archive:

Media/File Storage and Organization (Kate, Julia, Bo)
Weekly Newsletter Updates (Scott, Kate)

Funding:

Finance Committee (Will, tbd)
Insurance Claim (Will, John C., Jet)
Local / State Disaster Relief (Emily, Rachel)

Immediate needs:

Ongoing Debris Cleanup (Kari, Sam)
Temporary Float Access (Doug, Sam, Al, Mason)
Safe Transport (Dick, Kari)

Infrastructure Repair:

Mainland Pierhead/Boardwalk/Run (Sam, Al, Dave, Mason)
Island Pierhead/Trusses/Run (Beth, Michael, John C.)
Septic System (Al, Russ, Sam)
Electricity Infrastructure (Doug, Will, Dick)
Hen Island Bridge/Trusses (Beth, Dave, Michael, John C.)
Cookhouse Planning (Bob J, Al)

Each group is collaborating with each other and reporting progress as it is made to the BOD by email and during regular IHC Response Team meetings. Click here to see the Org Chart.

What’s coming up:

On Sunday, February 4th the Winter Meeting will be held by zoom starting at 11:00 am. A zoom link and meeting materials will be provided by email closer to the meeting date. The objective of the meeting will be to update the IHC on the latest progress, review finances from 2023, and a budget proposal for the year ahead.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Lyndsay Rowan has generously offered to donate an original painting of the Cookhouse for fundraising purposes.

Jenni Robinson is delivering leftover canned and dry goods from the Cookhouse to the Preble Street Resource Center in Portland

The Cookhouse clock has been rescued and has been sent for repair by Dick Walker.

RESOURCES

Check out this webinar from the Island Institute on storm recovery and resources in Maine. Here is the description from their website and a link to the recording is provided.

Listen in and hear directly from these State officials about what to do now and what to expect in the coming weeks and months. Topics include:

Roles and responsibilities of various state agencies
Processes and timelines to access federal assistance funding
Existing programs and resources for recovery and relief
Special considerations for working waterfront businesses and homeowners.

Webinar Recording: Storm Recovery and Resources - Island Institute

Important Dates:

IHC Winter Meeting - Sunday, February 4th @ 11 AM

Photo of the Month

The Cookhouse, in the beginning. Circa 1939.

Island Home Club

Five Islands, Maine