Merritt residents wait for help to repair homes, city continues to plan for alternative housing

KAMLOOPS — Rick Cromartie’s place is mostly gutted — with appliances and furniture scattered all over the house — a process that took about a month following the Nov. 15 flood event that brought water and mud into his Merritt home.

It’s all ready to be repaired and renovated, but he says there aren’t enough resources to go around, particularly restoration companies.

“For these companies trying to clean out basements, the water was off, everything was frozen solid, it’s been a real hold-back I’m sure for a lot of these companies,” said Cromartie, who lives a block away to the Coldwater River next to Merritt Secondary School.

As Cromartie waits for help to come to restore his place, he and his wife Jane have been staying for the last six weeks at the Comfort Inn.

“Lucky we have a place to stay. I’m sure there are a lot of people out there struggling,” he said. “We were lucky enough to have insurance. It’s not my favourite place to stay.”

With more than 500 properties still impacted and close to a thousand residents that remain out of their homes, many like the Cromarties are stuck at hotels or staying with friends and family.

The city’s top priority has been to find housing for people out of their homes, but hasn’t made much headway to this point.

“I think what we’re thinking about is what is the right needs for the individual residents that need the supports and I think that’s why it’s taken us so long [as we] determine what that is,” said Merritt mayor Linda Brown. “We also need to look at what are we putting up in terms of housing. Are we putting temporary or permanent? That mainly depends on what DFA [disaster financial assistance] will offer. We’re hoping they go for permanent.”

Housing is the missing puzzle piece to a return to normal. Most of the infrastructure repairs have been made. Pine Street, for example, where the Coldwater River carved a new bank, is now mostly back to normal.

“We still have the individuals’ homes they can’t come back to. I think there are 530 homes that equates to 900 people that are still evacuated out of their homes,” said Brown. “Other than that, the rest of the community seems to be functioning.”

Meantime, Cromartie is hoping to get back to his place full-time in about a month while the major repairs happen.

“It’s going to take months before all the flooring is done, whatever work we have to do outside. There’s foundation damage. That work won’t be able to be done until spring,” he said.