STORM EXPENSES STILL BEING TALLIED

ward with having staff prepare an informational report on the potential rezoning of this land to be heard at a future meeting.

WINTER STORM RECOVERY

Almost a month after the severe winter storm that began on Dec. 23 and left thousands of Fort Erie residents without power, the town is still taking steps to finish recovering and cleaning up.

Coun. Nick Dubanow made a point to thank the crews that came in from as far away as Sudbury to help the town recover over the holidays.

"I just want to mention this in case Fort Erie residents were not aware of this. We had crews from out of town waiting in Niagara Falls, staging on

Christmas Eve to come in and work in Fort Erie on Christmas Day to get our power back up, to clear our roads," said Dubanow. "They gave up their time with their families to help us in our time of need."

Since cleanup has not yet been completed, the town does not know how much has been spent as a result of the storm, but all expenses related to the storm are being tracked and the total will be released at a later date.

Right now, the town is still applying for provincial financial assistance to help offset the costs of recovery as well.

If approved for that provincial assistance, Fort Erie residents would also potentially be eligible for aid from the province.

The town hopes to have a future meeting including residents where emergency preparation in Fort Erie can be discussed, including what worked and what can be improved for future storms.

One suggestion that has already been brought up is encouraging residents to

have radios with batteries that they are able to use to get information in the

event that their phones die or cell service is interrupted.