Home, commercial damage estimates up to $16 million

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With flood damage assessments in the hardest hit Carlton County towns completed, Carlton County Assessor Marci Moreland said that losses due to disaster total $16,801,743 for residential and commercial properties.

That number will rise, because it didn’t include work done this week by assessors in Cloquet and Esko. Nor does it include flood damage to homes and businesses in townships.

“We expect to have all the cities completed by the end of today,” Moreland said Tuesday, explaining that her office and nearly 50 volunteer assessors from 20 different Minnesota counties have been going door-to-door since June 26.

On Monday, Crow Wing County Assessor Gary Griffin was visiting businesses in Cloquet’s West End, checking for flood damage with the assistance of the Twin Cities’ Cathy Medich, whose mom, Helen, is a Cloquet resident. Griffin said he brought five assessors from Crow Wing to help with the work in Carlton County.

Medich said they had been well received.

“I think people appreciate the fact that the assessor’s office is checking up on them,” she said.

On Thursday, Moreland said the Carlton County assessors will begin work in the townships. However, rural residents with flood damage need to contact the assessor’s office, Moreland said, explaining that the county will not go door-to-door in the countryside and all the volunteers will return to their own homes and jobs across the state.

“We’re on our own from here,” she said, “so we have to rely on people calling in or going online to report damage, so we know we need to get in touch with them.”

The online reporting tool is located on the county’s website, www.co.carlton.mn.us. Once you’re on the homepage, click on “report flood damage online.” There’s also a link in that form to submit flood photos, which county officials will use for damage reporting. People can also telephone the assessor’s office at 218-384-9142 or 218-384-9144. If no one answers, call 218-384-9149 and leave your name, address and a contact phone number.

The assessor’s flood damage estimate is in addition to the public infrastructure damages, which have crossed the $30 million mark for Carlton County and also will likely rise.

Tags: flood 2012, carlton county, news