6 Months After Flood, Ellicott City Building Stronger Foundation: Kittleman

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — The vehicles have been cleared from the Patapsco River, residents have rebuilt their front yards, Main Street has reopened and Ellicott City has made a comeback in the six months since floodwaters tore through the historic downtown.

"The community here is so much closer," Allan Kittleman said at a press conference Monday at the Tourism Center. "...Ellicott City is rebuilding stronger and better than ever before."

Of the 90 business affected by the flood, Kittleman reported that 73 have reopened, nine others plan to return and two new businesses will be coming to Main Street.

Kittleman and Councilman Jon Weinstein, who represents Ellicott City, held a joint press conference on Main Street to address the progress made in the past six months.

"Piece by piece, the town has come back, thanks to the dedication, passion, commitment and resilience of the residents, businesses, property owners and hundreds of volunteers," according to Kittleman. "This was a storm that we have truly weathered together."

The One EC Recovery Project will be the go-to resource for those seeking assistance in the flood's aftermath, and an advisory group as well as other initiatives are in place to protect the area through planning.

Added Kittleman: "Ellicott City is going to be great for a long, long time."

Statement from County Executive Allan Kittleman on Jan. 30, 2017:

Six months ago this evening, our beloved historic Ellicott City was devastated by a terrible flood. It was the type of storm that only comes every 1,000 years.

Piece by piece, the town has come back, thanks to the dedication, passion, commitment and resilience of the residents, businesses, property owners, and hundreds of volunteers. This was a storm that we have truly weathered together.

Of the 90 businesses impacted by the flood, 73 have already reopened, nine have pledged to return and two new businesses have announced they will be opening on Main Street. While residents have returned home, and temporary repairs have been made to the infrastructure, we still have much work to do. This will be a recovery measured in years, not months.

We've already held four community meetings and gathered more than 300 project ideas to shape Ellicott City into a model resilient community. While every idea may not feasible and while every idea cannot be funded, we are committed to tackling those projects that will have the greatest impact. We've welcomed the ideas and support of external groups, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Urban Land Institute.

Today the One EC Recovery Project assumed the lead as a new resource for Ellicott City residents. Since its formal incorporation in November of 2016, it has identified more than 30 cases of residential rebuilding and rehabilitation still needed for recovery and has been active in raising financial support, as well as, building supplies, goods, services, in-kind donations and volunteer labor to assist and benefit residents in their recovery.

Additional long-term recovery efforts continue:

• The Ellicott City Flood Recovery Community Advisory Group is expected to submit its report and recommendations this week after hours of weekly meetings, debate and gathering input for the last five months.
• Millworks Business Resource Center opened in January at 8098 Main Street as a central location for businesses and property owners to gain access to recovery resources through the Howard County Economic Development Authority, the Ellicott City Partnership, the U.S. Small Business Administration and other organizations.
• The County is collecting Expressions of Interest for professional services to help develop a Master Plan for Ellicott City and its watershed.
• The County has already commissioned studies that will help us better understand what happened on July 30, 2016, as well as what could be done to mitigate damage in the future.

Since the flood, the EC Partnership has collected and disbursed $1.8 million that was donated for recovery. Those donations supported 190 residents, 90 businesses and 81 property owners with recovery grants and thousands of dollars in emergency gift cards.

If we can find any silver lining in what we have gone through, it is that it has brought us closer together. I hope you will continue to monitor our progress online at www.ecstrong.org and I hope you will continue to support historic Ellicott City in the months ahead.

As always, thanks for helping us be #ECSTRONG.

Sincerely,

Allan

File photo from Howard County Government.