Roswell residents and business owners continue cleanup after flooding

ROSWELL, N.M. — Flooding in Roswell left devastation that people are still cleaning up as they begin to traverse their long road to recovery.

Hope still stands, including for the owner of a beloved roller rink.

In April, the Cheap Skates Family Fun Center reopened for the first time since the pandemic. After the flooding, they’re having to start again – again.

Tracey Phillips, the owner of Cheap Skates, closed the roller rink early Saturday because of a leak caused by the heavy rain. Phillips didn’t think much of it until the manager called her saying the rink was flooding.

Phillips said they had to cancel birthday parties and events. They also have to make repairs before anyone can go back in.

“The floor is the main thing that’s going to have to be done. And of course, any time you get water in there, the concrete [is what] you have to worry about. The integrity of the concrete, especially where we’ve had to patch, cracks or things like that. And of course, the paint that’s all bubbled up and ruined,” she said. “We started working on it that morning and got the water out, and, mostly we just left with a couple inches of mud to get off.”

Phillips added that the roller rink sat under three inches of water. Still, she said that they didn’t get hit as bad as other parts of the city. They anticipate they’ll be open again by the first week of November, if everything goes to plan.

“Roswell has really pulled together, and everybody’s been very supportive to try to get everybody back and running and everything back up to normal,” she said.

The New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is going to assess the damage and complete it by either Friday or Saturday morning. DHSEM reps say there needs to be $4 million worth of damages for FEMA to step in. Then, they will send the proposal for approval which, if it passes, could lead to FEMA responding in the next couple of weeks.

However, FEMA is already on the ground, going home-to-home to support and collect data.

“We ask that FEMA accompanies us to verify that the cost that we are marking, or the houses that we are considered destroyed, damaged or impacted, match their criteria,” said Ali Rye, the director of DHSEM.

Rye added that a federal declaration would help save time. However, she said that they don’t want you to wait for FEMA or state personnel to come to your door. They want you to take pictures of everything and calculate how much you’re spending to clean up.

“Document what you had spent on maybe going to Home Depot to buy cleaning supplies or you’re having to take items out of your home that were of value. Document what those items were, how much of value they were. Keep as much records as you possibly can,” Rye said.

If you’re still gathering trash, the Roswell Municipal Landfill expanded their weekend hours. The hours are Saturday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Sunday from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The city will also waive landfill fees associated with flood-related debris.

DHSEM is also setting up a 24/7 hotline you can call for any updates, questions or concerns: 1-833-663-4736.