U.S. Rep. Murphy Tours Businesses Affected by Irene

The parking lot of was full of cars, not water, by Tuesday afternoon, but some local businesses are still struggling to get beyond Irene and back to work.

On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy (D-5) toured flooded Farmington businesses both to see the damage and to inform business owners about federal assistance programs. He was accompanied by Farmington Economic Development Director Courtney Hendricson, who was able to provide business owners with local information and connect them to state resources.

First on the tour was , which lay under water along with much of Town Farm Road. There, employees were working to reopen for a tournament on Thursday. Officials said that water was receding from the course and that the banquet facility itself suffered very little damage.

Murphy also visited on Route 4, where the road was shut down. By Sunday evening the storm had swelled over Route 4, covering the low-lying properties including nearby homes and businesses.

Edricks had reopened Tuesday after a massive clean-up effort from staff.

David Edricks, who owns the business with his wife Sharon, said at the worst point, almost 3 feet of water filled their store.

“We came with a river raft and we tried to paddle in at first,” he said. When that didn’t work, they just waded through. “The damage is mostly flooring and carpeting, some machines have issues.”

But, thankfully, he said, customers’ property was not damaged. He has filed an insurance claim and is waiting to hear back.

Next door, was barely affected, a manager told Murphy. Just a small amount of water entered the back of the building.

The slightly lower joint building for and , however, is still under water. Tryfon Tolides, who owns the businesses with his brother, who was away on vacation, waited Tuesday for Murphy’s visit in bare feet with his pants rolled up.

“At its highest, it’s still 2 and a half feet now,” Tolides said. “It came up fast and started dropping quickly.”

The parking lot for the two remained a lake Tuesday and Tolides had sandbagged the entrances to both buildings to keep more water from coming in. But that kept him from going inside.

“If I open the door, that water will be invited in. I don’t know what to do,” he said.

The Farmington Fire Department had checked on the business Monday night, he said, but wouldn’t pump out the parking lot, as he had hoped.

“It was still connected to the river,” he said.

Murphy told him about low-interest loans available through the Small Business Administration but Tolides just shook his head.

“Business is bad, money is tight and the last time this happened my brother took out a loan. We’re still paying it back,” he said.

Hendricson took his contact information so she could connect him with local resources.

“You’re doing what you can. Keep that smile on your face and we’ll do what we can,” she told him.

Murphy, who has been touring the Fifth District to check out damage done by Tropical Storm Irene, said he can be a better advocate for the state if he’s seen the fallout firsthand.

“We hope there won’t be a political fight over federal disaster assistance by there are rumblings,” he said.

President Barack Obama at the request of Gov. Dannel Malloy declared a state of emergency for Connecticut prior to the storm in order to release emergency supplies and authorize the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts here.

But whether the state receives disaster relief funds depends on damage assessment, still taking place around the state.

“If granted, this declaration would bring much needed help to Connecticut residents and businesses,” Malloy said in a statement. To aid in data collection, he is asking residents to report damage to the 2-1-1 Infoline. “The reporting of this damage is a critical step in our attempt to secure federal aid in the wake of Hurricane Irene.”

Malloy was also touring hard-hit areas of the state and offering information about state assistance. Businesses may apply for loans to repair uninsured losses from the state Department of Economic and Community Development. Information about the program is state assistance is available on the Connecticut Business and Industry Association website. The state has also extended the filing deadline for filing certain business taxes to Sept. 7.

Representatives of the DECD will also be available to advise local business owners at a drop-in session hosted by the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon at the Main Street headquarters. Non-member business owners are welcome.