Gov. Snyder takes helicopter tour of Little Girl's Point devastation

LITTLE GIRL'S POINT - Gov. Rick Snyder took an aerial tour of Little Girl's Point Monday morning to see the after effects of last week's storm.

Snyder - who declared a state of emergency for Gogebic County Friday - traveled by helicopter to survey the washouts on Lake Road, which occurred after heavy rains July 11 caused widespread flooding on the Point and left many residents stranded of several days.

Following the tour, Snyder landed in the boat-launch parking lot next to Oman's Creek and briefly chatted and took pictures with the assembled crowd.

"As Governor, I think it's important to be in all parts of Michigan when there is a disaster or an emergency. And this was clearly a case where there was serious road damage here - in terms of roads washing out, access to people's homes," Snyder said during a brief interview with the assembled media. "The fortunate part is people were safe and their homes were largely safe, but we need to repair the roads. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Wisconsin, I mean people there did lose their lives in this storm and that's terrible and there's a lot of damage in other states."

Snyder said the state was working on the recovery, referencing the National Guard members working at the Point, but stressed the state was working with Gogebic County.

"The National Guard is already on the ground here doing work, helping repair culverts with the county - in partnership," Snyder said. "So again, we'll provide resources.

"We want to be a good partner though. You've got a strong community in this area and we want to work well with them. It's about people working together, not one organization doing it versus another."

Gogebic County Road Commission Manager Darren Pionk estimates the repair costs for Lake Road could be in the ballpark of $6 million - which would include not only the short-term repairs but also the long-term fixes and some repaving work to repair Lake Road following the heavy truck traffic needed to fix the washouts.

Pionk told the Daily Globe Monday he would begin work to determine what funding sources were available for the project in the near future. He also said the commission had gotten the ball moving on the preliminary steps of the permanent fixes to some of the larger washouts. This is especially crucial as winter approaches, a point Pionk stressed in his meeting with the governor.

Pionk said he felt the governor was receptive to the urgency, especially after the helicopter tour.

"I think he understood after talking to me and the helicopter ride that it's dire straits right now," Pionk said. "We don't have the extended construction season like Lower Michigan."

Snyder pushed back against the idea the state forgot about the county, saying the Wisconsin state government was reacting to a bigger disaster when it declared its state of emergency Tuesday.

"Again, if you look at, we had serious damage here. Wisconsin had loss of life, whole roads (washed out), I mean huge issues there, so I appreciate their response," Snyder said. "Again, the county here was working well with a number of state resources from the beginning of this, and we're responding."

Snyder said the reaction from residents he spoke to was largely positive.

"They feel good that people are responding to help one and other," Snyder said. "Neighbors helping neighbors - and then you have people from the county, the state, the local communities all rallying together. People like the Red Cross, everyone wants to help and that's the best of Michiganders. (It) comes out during difficult times and crisis times like this."

As the recovery process continues, he said restoring access was the number one priority.

"Again, you hate to see any kind of damage like this, but my understanding is this is the kind of flood you get every 1,000 years, so it just kind of overwhelmed the culverts and the roads in many respects," Snyder said. "Now we need to make sure there is access for people to get to work, to have a regular life and for emergency services. And that's the focus today."

"The job is getting done right now ... we'll have the costs sorted out at some point, but the thing right now is let get temporary roads put in place ... as fast as possible and that's what they're doing now," he said. "It's great to see progress - I mean you just look at what's going on here, it's happening already. I was impressed flying over to see the work the county has done, and now the Guard is here to help and we're working together."