Having anxiously anticipated additional federal emergency-management reimbursements since the multiple flooding events of May, Phelps County finally received some assistance.
County Clerk Carol Bennett reported Tuesday the county was in receipt of two checks, which comprised payments for four project worksheets the county submitted to federal and state emergency-management agencies months ago.
Both reimbursements were forwarded to the county by the State Emergency Management Agency, one for $83,699 and the other for $12,925. Although the payments constitute 75 percent of the total cost of projects associated with repairing flood-damaged county roads, and are paid by federal funds, counties and municipalities must await SEMA management and oversight before the funds are actually released.
Also, SEMA has not indicated, as yet, whether the state agency will reimburse Phelps County for any flood-related repairs the Road and Bridge Department incurred as a result of the flooding incidents. Ordinarily, SEMA reimburses localities 10 percent of the total losses associated with statewide disasters.
Bennett said flood-repair projects still awaiting FEMA and SEMA approval and disbursement total $1.05 million.
The county’s Road and Bridge Department responded to several flooding events this year, and a review of the budget by the Phelps County Commission indicated the department had expended 85 percent of its yearly budget by the end of October, according to District 2 Commissioner Bud Dean.
Many of the county’s planned $500,000 chip-and-seal projects slated for 2009 were put on hold because of repetitious flooding events that tied up road crews for weeks, in addition to scheduling conflicts with a local contractor, Dean said.
