Ellicott City Business Owner: 'Too Early to Say' What Future Holds for Main Street

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — Federal, state and local officials pledged before a standing-room-only crowd Monday night in Ellicott City that they would provide aid to business owners and residents displaced by the weekend's deadly flood.

Some business owners saw their establishments for the first time on Monday since 6.5 inches of rain sent vehicles swimming and ripping through storefronts up and down Main Street.

Between 6 to 8 feet of water entered Great Panes, a glass art and restoration shop in the 8000 block of Main Street, according to Len Berkowitz. He owns the building and had two tenants living above the shop. They were trapped on Saturday night and had to break down a door to get out, he said.

"We're happy to be OK, and our tenants are OK," he said, but noted his tenants no longer had somewhere to live, since Main Street was closed. He also said that he was concerned about four windows that were being restored from the Congressional golf course in Bethesda, which were originals from 1924.

Another business owner was also concerned about irreplaceable items in her shop in the downtown historic district.

Margaret Collins, owner of Out of Our Past Antiques, said that her store contained items like a book written by abolitionists and a letter opener carved by a soldier in World War I.

She saw the exterior of her shop in the 8100 block of Main Street Monday afternoon during a tour in which county officials escorted business owners by vehicle, she said, but was not able to go inside.

As far as the future, Collins told Patch: "It's too early to say."

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Government officials tried to offer hope to those attending the information session, where some attendees clutched Kleenex packages in their laps.

“We’re going to recover," U.S. Senator Ben Cardin said. "We’re here to give you whatever help we can ... and make sure that Ellicott City returns to its glory."

Damage assessments — underway Monday — were a key step in the process to obtain federal aid, he said. FEMA and MEMA were among the organizations represented at the storm recovery workshop.

Business owners learned some relief was coming at the state level.

"Any small business affected by the flood does not have to pay their withholding or sales or amusement taxes" until the end of September, Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot said.

Business owners or residents with concerns about records or other tax issues were encouraged to call the ombudsman at 410-260-4020, according to the comptroller.

Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman said a disaster assistance center would be open for the next two weeks so that citizens may have access to federal, state and county resources. The center will be at the Ellicott City 50+ Center at 9401 Frederick Road.

More than 180 cars had been towed from the downtown district to Centennial High School, Kittleman said Monday evening. Owners may come directly to the school to pick up their vehicles from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily until Sunday, Aug. 7. Those whose vehicles were impacted can contact the county at 410-313-2900.

"I don't think anything could have stopped this tragedy, folks," Kittleman said.

However, he added that sometimes when there was 1 inch of rain, downtown has flooded. "It's an opportunity for us to make some changes," he said of the weekend flood. "It's something we have to consider soon."

To minimize the impact of future flooding, he has tasked the Department of Planning and Zoning with putting together a master plan to be determined within months.

Photo Credit: Howard County Government.