Melrose Emergency Fund Flush, But Barely Tapped For Brazil Street

MELROSE, MA — When Mayor Gail Infurna spoke about the city's response to the Brazil Street sewage backup, one thing that caught people's attention was what, in a vacuum, seemed like a kind gesture immune to criticism. Melrose gave $200 Target gift cards to the residents of each of the four affected homes a week after the backup, a gesture to help bridge the gap while a hectic situation normalized.

But more than a month later, the situation has only gotten messier; only one of the homes has been cleared to move back into as of last week. Two hundred dollars only stretches so far, whether that's for the one elderly resident or the single mother with three small children still out of their homes.

"We thought $200 would be enough to replace anything they might immediately need replaced," Infurna's assistant Brigid Alverson told Patch. "Our thought was that their belongings would probably be covered by homeowners/renters/city insurance."

The gift cards were paid for by the Melrose Emergency Fund. As of last week, that has been the only money to come out of the fund for the Brazil Street victims. Alverson, who is also a fund administrator, said the fund had about $171,000 in it as of this month.

The rest of the money paid out in the Brazil Street situation, some $40,000 for hotel stays, cleanup and repair as of last week, came from the Sewage Fund. City officials said they anticipate recovering much of it through insurance.

When the city ended the hotel stay for one family whose home it deemed habitable (the residents disagreed with that assessment) and said it would end the stay for residents of another home that hadn't been cleared (the stay has since been extended multiple times) it cited a lack of resources. City Solicitor Robert Van Campen said July 10 that Melrose "cannot commit to continue using its limited financial resources to pay for ongoing expenses here."

Van Campen may not have been considering the fund. Brazil Street is "not a typical Emergency Fund situation" since the city was counting on insurance to cover most of the losses, Alverson said.

"The gift cards were just meant to help the residents with incidentals, things they might want to replace immediately," Alverson.

Infurna's office has said in the past the fund is for "one-time help to Melrose residents experiencing financial emergencies." Brazil Street has required an ongoing, long-term response.

The fund has often been a help to those in need.

The Emergency Fund has so far paid out $22,385.59 in 2019, according to records provided to Patch. Of that, $1,250 was on 17 instances of food cards; $14,501.24 on nine instances of housing/rent; $5998.35 on nine instances categorized as "other;" and $636 on one utility instance.

The records, which were redacted to withhold names, shows housing/rent payouts of more than $5,000 and $2,800, respectively, in the winter, and of more than $2,500 and $1,500, respectively, in the spring. Outside of those, the only payout of more than $1,000 was a $4,000 one with a "Bread of Life" description.

The majority of payments range from $100-$200.

The fund has wiggle room in how it operates. Normally, the Council on Aging staff takes requests, meets with the applicant, determines how much a person might need from the fund and administers the aid. But in some "extreme" cases, like Brazil Street, the Mayor's office steps in, Alverson said.

The fund only received a single $100 donation in June that was specified for the Brazil Street residents, Alverson said.