The Brinstar Beercade and Grill would have been preparing for its grand opening at the end of this summer if not for the two crises that have fallen on the region.
Delays began when permits and inspections slowed down due to the spread of COVID-19. New health and safety guidelines made Brinstar owners, Belle Fawcett and Scott Nankervis, question if they would ever fully open.
“We had inspections to do and plans to get approved. When the City of Midland started working from home, that pretty much put the kibosh on getting approvals for construction and all that,” Nankervis said.
Soon after, Midland faced its second crisis when the Sanford and Edenville dams failed the night of May 19.
The main floor in Nankervis’ house took in around two feet of water. Eight wooden arcade cabinets meant for Brinstar, valued around $1,200 a piece, were damaged or destroyed – along with many more personal possessions.
“If we had known what we were up against, I would’ve gotten everything out of here as much as I could,” Nankervis said.
This is the reality for many Midland residents who are juggling the effects of two crises at once.
Midland City Manager Brad Kaye said responding to the floods amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic presented unique challenges at the city level.
“Our staffing levels had been reduced because of COVID. We had people either on furloughs or work-at-home orders at the time,” Kaye said. “A number of people weren’t working from city facilities at the time, it took a switch in our staffing levels just to simply bring them back and have them available for in-person labor.”
Many people were told to evacuate their homes when water began flowing over the spill gates of the Edenville Dam. Emergency shelters were set up at school buildings in the area while everyone had to follow health and safety guidelines as best they could.
“Rather than doing evacuations, for instance, going door-to-door as we would often do, it was more of an in-vehicle, announcement-style evacuation method," Kaye said. "There were some challenges with that, but we adapted."
After the response, came the recovery. Kaye said documenting damages to property introduced even more challenges. Rather than entering people’s homes, taking photos and talking to residents, in some cases, city workers assessed damages from flood victims' front lawns.
Carol Bogan lives in the easily recognized “igloo-house” on West Sugnet Drive in Midland. Her home is one of many examples of mid-century architecture that dots the community. With the impact of COVID-19 on top of the floods, Bogan says it’s just “gasoline on the fire.”
“With the corona(virus), people are keeping a safe distance, there’s a notable lack of hugging,” Bogan said.
The first floor of the “igloo house” took in around seven feet of water. This destroyed the drywall, flooring and some mid-century design elements. Even with the damage, Bogan says she loves Midland too much to leave.
Compared to the flooding in 2017, however, Bogan said she knows more people who don’t have the resources to restore their homes. They either intend to move to a higher elevation or leave Midland entirely.
“… To get slammed again because the dams weren’t maintained really demoralized a lot of folks,” Bogan said.
That isn’t the case for Amy Thomas and the rest of her family who live up the street from Bogan. Her husband, Jason, was photographed by The Detroit News as he paddled to their flooded home in a kayak.
Throughout both crises, Thomas had the wellbeing of her three children on her mind. When schools went remote in March, she took a voluntary furlough to stay with them.
“It was taking me three hours to help them with their schoolwork a day,” Thomas said. “When the floods came, I contacted the schools and said, ‘my kids are done for the year.’”
Their house took in enough water to submerge their basement and first floor. Many of her kids’ toys and possessions were lost, including school supplies. Thomas said the last few weeks have been hard on them – the floods took away their toys, the virus took away their socialization.
"You want to take your kids out, you want to do fun things with them, you want to take them to the park. You want to go do these things but at the same time, you’re so scared to do that,” Thomas said.
After being denied flood insurance — and paying for repairs out-of-pocket — Thomas said her family still finds ways to look forward.
“I think a lot of it has to do with my husband and I staying positive and telling them things are going to be so much better when all this is done,” Thomas said. “We’re going to have a brand-new home, you’re going to have this, you’re going to have that. Your Christmas this year is going to be amazing. It will be like starting all over.”
Nearly two months after the floods, Midland County (along with the four surrounding counties affected by the floods) were declared a state of emergency by President Donald Trump while ordering federal assistance to supplement state and local response efforts.
Because of the pandemic, Midland County Emergency Manager Jennifer Boyer said the physical response from federal programs like the Small Business Administration or the Federal Emergency Management Agency are lacking.
“I’m nervous about the possible negative impact that would have on our residents getting the services they need,” Boyer said. “We have a lot of older people in our population that may not be as savvy on a computer or on a smartphone for applying for assistance.”
Boyer predicts the federal government’s response to the flooding in Mid-Michigan will impact their procedures going forward for other disasters across the nation within the pandemic environment.
Since the May 19 flooding, Midland has seen over 100 new confirmed coronavirus cases, according to state government data.
How could Midland recover after enduring the full-on force of two crises in one summer? Examples so far point to local nonprofits, community organizations or the helping hands of friends and neighbors.
The Brinstar owners were helped by their subcontractor for primary heating and air conditioning. He had worked with his supplier, American Standard, to help give Nankervis and Fawcett a high efficiency furnace for Nankervis’ home. He also offered a variable speed air conditioner at cost without labor charges.
The co-owners said while the beercade should be open by now, the delay won’t stop them from seeing it through. They hope to have Brinstar open by the end of the year.
“We’ve had adversity before and we’re pretty hard workers about it. But to be honest, considering all the help from these people, how do you stop?” Nankervis said. “It (has) really meant a lot to us, and it (has) inspired us to keep moving forward ourselves.”
