Rome, Oneida County officials offer updates on tornado cleanup programs, relief efforts

Roads are open, power is restored, and debris is being cleaned up — but city and county officials said Rome isn’t out of the woods yet and are committed to continuing efforts to rebuild and recover after the tornado.

At a press conference on Friday, Rome Mayor Jeffrey Lanigan, Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr., and Rome Police Chief Kevin James gave what updates they could before the weekend.

“If you’ve driven around Rome, our crews have been out there and have done an incredible job cleaning up,” Lanigan said.

Power restored, but cleanup continues

Brush pickup on the side of the road is still ongoing, and Lanigan said it will likely continue for the next few weeks. In addition, almost every road in Rome is open.

“Roads are open, except for the two in front of [St. Mary’s Church and First Presbyterian Church]," Lanigan said.

Perry Street had been closed in recent days, but that has since been opened.

And thanks to the work of the linemen in the city of Rome, power lines are back up and running and feeding into the grid.

Lanigan said that while power is restored, some people in Rome have sustained damage to their homes which “... falls back under the property owner to fix.”

This Saturday, Lanigan said there is going to be a park cleanup effort by volunteers who will be raking up debris and picking up sticks to make the parks clean once again.

Rome Business Relief Fund makes an impact

The Rome Business Relief Fund has accepted over 30 businesses as of Friday afternoon and received $140,000 total from the city of Rome, Oneida County, and Rome Chamber of Commerce.

“Businesses affected have been able to reach out and get direct funding,” Lanigan said. “It’s been a tremendous asset to the businesses affected.”

Individual support: Nearly $1 million approved for residents

Picente said the Rome Victim Recovery Fund operated through the Community Foundation and funded by the county, city, and private donations, has been successful.

“We opened phone lines on Wednesday,” he said. “As of noon Friday, we have preliminarily approved 279 residents for funding for just shy of three-quarters of a million dollars that we’ll be getting out the door in the next several days.”

Picente said other residents are in the queue with “unique situations” and there were few declinations.

Of the requests, the county executive said the costs were to cover things such as insurance deductibles and tree removals.

“We’re reaching out and talking about cutting checks on Tuesdays and Thursdays of each week going forward,” he said.

Phone lines are open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, to take applications. The number to call is 315-798-5206.

Honor America Days moving forward Sept. 7

It has been confirmed that Honor America Days will take place on Saturday, Sept. 7.

“We’ll have the parade, followed by fireworks and the symphony at Fort Stanwix,” Lanigan said.

Details with specifics will be released by the Rome Chamber of Commerce at a later date.

Big Jay's Pizzeria is still set to be the sponsor of Honor America Days, even after the damage done to the Rome property.

“We’re happy they’ll still be a part of it,” Lanigan said.

A thank you from the city

James gave extensive thanks to anyone and everyone involved with the tornado response and clean up, from the National Guard to the volunteer fire departments all calling him during the storm and asking what they can do to help.

“We would not be in the position we are right now without the men and women who truly did the work,” James said. “I was the incident commander, so I had a front-row seat to all the teamwork and collaboration. Everyone got the job done, professionally and efficiently.”

The mayor himself thanked the residents of Rome, who had been supportive and strong during a challenging time.

“To our residents, you have been resilient through this whole ordeal, and we appreciate that,” Lanigan said. “Even when the County Executive and I went through neighborhoods, people came out and shook our hands and thanked us. And we appreciate that. And so do the DPW, police, and fire. That show of support from all of you means a lot.

“Keep your heads up and we’re going to keep moving forward. And we won’t be slowing down.”

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Rome, Oneida County detail tornado recovery efforts, what's next