The Rebuild Athens Steering Committee was created a few months ago to assist in the Valley's recovery process following September's flood. As local residents continue to make suggestions on how to rebuild, our Bill Mich spoke with committee to find out when it expects to make a difference in the community.

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ATHENS, PA. -- The signs of recovery are becoming more clear in Athens. From along the river to down on Main Street.

"There's a lot of the businesses that are starting to open up. You can see things are being redone. You can see the development going on there," said Scott Riley of the Rebuild Athens Steering Committee.

Countless hours of hard work have been able to bring back homes and businesses from the muddy and soggy mess they were just a few months ago. But there is still more to be done and help is available. The Rebuild Athens Steering Committee was created to guide the recovery process and Saturday was the final day of a 3 day open house where committee members took ideas and suggestions on how to rebuild the community.

"Let them ultimately go and make the decisions and drive this committee to go and work for them because it is their community and if they don't support the ideas we come up with, then we don't have a back bone to stand on," Riley said.

The committee has broken down the ideas into flood prevention, housing, business and economics and is working on a long term plan they hope to present to the public by mid-March. And to ensure the projects, particularly the long-term expensive projects, can get done, FEMA is working with the committee to try and secure the money it may need.

"We are getting a head start on it now. Identifying potential resources. And I wish I could say what exactly that resource may be, but we don't know. And the more you diversify your resources, the more successful you'll be," said FEMA Long-Term Community Recovery Community Planner Susan Millan.

As the planning phase comes to an end, the committee's hope is to really begin to make a difference in the spring and summer months. But there is no end in sight for a recovery process that could take years to complete.