$4.5 Million To Rebuild Hurricane Ida-Damaged Upper Dublin Township Building

UPPER DUBLIN, PA — This eastern Montgomery County community that saw widespread devastation following a tornado created by last year's Hurricane Ida just got some relief in the form of a multi-million-dollar state grant.

Elected officials announced Tuesday that Upper Dublin Township will be the recipient of a $4.5 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant that will fund the rebuilding of the township's government complex, which was severely damaged by the strong EF-2 tornado caused by Hurricane Ida in September of last year.

The tornado was so strong that it tore the roof off of the township building, which housed municipal offices and police department operations.

Government offices and the police department headquarters were subsequently moved to other areas within the community because the space was rendered uninhabitable.

"The Township and its Police Department have done a noble job maintaining their high level of service from temporary locations, but they — and the community — are ready to rebuild," State Sen. Maria Collett, D-Montgomery, said in a statement. "Having seen firsthand the extent of the devastation to the township building and police headquarters, I know how urgently this funding is needed to begin construction work on their new facilities. I was proud to work with Senator [Vince] Hughes and Representative [Ben] Sanchez to support this worthy project."

Upper Dublin Township Manager Kurt Ferguson stated that the money from the state will help offset rebuilding costs that the township's insurance policy did not cover and allow the local government to "move forward confidently in restoring our building and allow our departments — including our police department which is presently housed in the Upper Dublin Township library — to move from our temporary headquarters.

"With so many of our residents still working to restore normalcy to their own lives, our ability to limit the need for our residents to give more to this restoration effort is gratefully appreciated," he said.

Hughes, a Democrat representing the 7th Senatorial District, which includes Upper Dublin, said when he and other elected officials toured the municipal complex on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Ida in September, they saw firsthand the devastation caused by the tornado and how the municipal building had a "long way to go before becoming fully operational again.

"I'm thrilled Upper Dublin was awarded this RACP grant and I look forward to the day when this project is complete and we can celebrate the township officials and police moving into their new, safe space."

Sanchez, whose 153rd House district includes a slice of Upper Dublin, also praised the $4.5 million state investment, calling the grant an important step in the township's healing process over the havoc wreaked by the storm.

According to Ferguson, the township manager, the state funding will help lessen by nearly half the costs for rebuilding incurred by the township.

Patch caught up with Ferguson by phone Wednesday morning to inquire about overall anticipated project costs.

He said it's a rough estimate at this point, but the township complex rebuilding is expected to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 million.

The insurance settlement was about $20.5 million, he said, which would leave about $9.5 million left. With the state kicking in $4.5 million, the township will still have to come up with about a remaining $5 million.

Ferguson said the township building was decades old so any rebuilding would have to also include some much-needed upgrades, such as ensuring the building is ADA compliant.

"It's not just putting the building back to the way that it was, we're going to have to do other things," Ferguson said.

He said the township is currently in the process of putting out proposal requests for design services to help get the ball rolling, and that would be taking place over the next few weeks or so.

While many communities across the Greater Philadelphia region suffered damage due to Hurricane Ida and the EF-2 tornado, the townships of Upper Dublin and Horsham in Montgomery County suffered saw particularly intense devastation.

In recognition of the hardships sustained by Upper Dublin, state lawmakers this fall passed a resolution declaring September "Upper Dublin Strong Month."

More about the House resolution can be found here.

Related articles about Upper Dublin's damage from Hurricane Ida can be found within the above link.