BY REBECA BENNETT — On Feb. 16, the Hyattsville City Council approved a payment of $30,000 to NZI Construction for snow removal services rendered during the January blizzard.  Now, a disaster declaration means the City of Hyattsville expects to be reimbursed for some of the costs incurred during the snow storm.

As a result of the January blizzard, Maryland was one of 11 states to declare a state of emergency.  All of the municipalities in Prince George’s County submitted a claim through the Maryland Emergency Management Agency and the request for disaster declaration was approved, Hyattsville City Administrator Tracey Nicholson said on March 7.

In response to questions, Nicholson said the Department of Public Works reached out to NZI and put them on standby in case the city needed help relocating snow off of streets.

The City of Hyattsville was one of the few municipalities with the ability to relocate snow, Nicholson said. NZI began working on Sunday of the storm and moved over 7200 cubic yards of snow in a 5-day period.  Much of the snow was dumped in the empty Hamilton Street lot, which is the future home of a parking garage or lot.  NZI cleared emergency snow routes, intersections, bus stops and places homeowners had plowed, Nicholson said.