Residents of the Weyburn area may be eligible for financial assistance from the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP), set up by the ministry of Corrections, Public Safety, and Policing.
Residents of the Weyburn area may be eligible for financial assistance from the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP), set up by the ministry of Corrections, Public Safety, and Policing. PDAP has been providing financial assistance to the people who have suffered losses due to flooding this spring and the blizzard at the end of April.
Representatives from PDAP hosted an information meeting at the Weyburn Comp Cafetorium on Wednesday night for residents of Weyburn and the surrounding rural municipalities. Over 200 people attended the meeting looking for information on how to recuperate their losses. Attendees of the meeting were given information from Mieka Torgrimson, Marvin Mieckel, Laurie Kelk, and Alisha Grant, representatives from PDAP.
"We're here to provide information to affected residents from both the flooding and the blizzards that people incurred damage from over the spring, between the months of March and May, providing information about recovery as a whole, so that services can be provided, including building inspections, the steps that should be taken, and who may visit their properties such as adjusters and representatives from SaskEnergy or SaskPower," said Torgrimson.
Torgrimson also stated that the main goal of the meeting is to provide people with "a high-level review of the eligibility of (PDAP)."
Attendees of the meeting were provided with extensive information on PDAP. This includes a pamphlet with some basic PDAP information, special bulletins on floods and cattle losses, and a 27-page booklet on the PDAP general guidelines.
Some of the biggest points included in the booklet are that PDAP is there to provide people with assistance in situations that aren't covered by insurance. A local government, such as an RM office, must ask PDAP for assistance in order for residents to be eligible. PDAP will provide funding in order to get damaged property back to pre-disaster condition only. People have six months from the date of the disaster to apply and provide documentation of damage.
Documentation of damage should include pictures of damaged property, a log of the labour needed to recover from the disaster, and a log of time spent using equipment in recovery efforts.
The booklet also goes over what can be covered by PDAP, and how to apply in different instances. For example, if someone were to apply for PDAP assistance in covering damage to their home, the person applying must own the property and live there year round. This means seasonal homes such as cottages are ineligible.
Small businesses and non-profit organizations can also be eligible for assistance. Farms and rental housing count as small businesses under PDAP. Small business must be located in and operated out of Saskatchewan. They also must have a revenue of over $4,000 but less then $2 million.
In both cases PDAP will only cover buildings and possessions deemed essential for living or for business operations. Some essential possessions include bedding, clothes, towels, large appliances, small appliances, computers, tables, telephones, cell phones, televisions, and health products. All structural damage a building may have suffered during a disaster is eligible.
People claiming private property damage can receive a maximum of $240,000 in assistance. Small business can receive up to $500,000 in assistance. Landlords can claim up to $240,000 for individual rental units, and up to $500,000 for buildings that have multiple rental units. Non-profit organizations can claim up to $500,000 for assistance.
A number of questions were raised during the meeting about what to do in the event of mold. Mieckel explained that mold removal is not subject to the cleanup labour and equipment maximums. Things like water removal have a maximum amount of time people can claim. For example, four inches of water has a maximum labour time of 40 hours that can be claimed.
Mieckel also warned the audience that they should be on the lookout for mold because the increased moisture is great for mold development.
Applications for assistance were taken at Captain's Hall on Thursday and Friday. PDAP workers helped residents with fill applications and answered any questions people had about the program.
"It's excellent," said Joe Ballenas in regard to the program. Ballenas was one of the Weyburn residents who applied for PDAP assistance at Captain's Hall. "It will be helpful to the farmers around here. I know that a lot of them have not completed seeding yet, so this program can hopefully make things a bit easier for them."
Ballenas had about four inches of water flood his basement, and found out about PDAP on Thursday morning. He is hoping that PDAP can help cover the cost of the water damage to his basement.
