St. Louis committee hears progress, gaps in deployment of $30 million in RAMS interest for tornado recovery

St. Louis City recovery staff told the Board of Aldermen’s Budget and Public Employees Committee on Sept. 24 that most of the $30 million the board previously allocated from RAMS interest has been committed to nonprofit reimbursements, disaster case management, debris removal and housing work — but officials warned they expect gaps that will require additional decisions before winter.

The update came from Jim Hill, chief financial and cost recovery officer in the Mayor’s Recovery Office, and Adam Pearson, director of the Department of Human Services and head of the Resident Well-Being Task Force, who presented the deployment status and answered questions from aldermen and members of the public.

“We’ve got an additional $7,000,000 of funds in deployment, which means we’ve got about $7,000,000 left of the $30,000,000 to be deployed,” Jim Hill said. Hill also described ongoing contracts and consultants supporting cost recovery and debris work.

Why it matters: committee members and public speakers urged the administration to move more money quickly into direct support — especially housing and small-business relief — and to increase transparency on how awards are decided. Several residents said delays put families and neighborhood businesses at risk as colder weather approaches.

Most large line items have been assigned. Adam Pearson said the city is working with United Way as a fiscal agent for nonprofit reimbursement grants: 70 applications were received for a $3.5 million nonprofit assistance line, $4.3 million in requests were submitted, 15 applications have been approved so far and 11 were denied because they lacked nonprofit status or required documentation. “We have received 70 applications,” Pearson said.

Disaster case management is a priority: Pearson said the city identified four providers for case management (Catholic Charities, Salvation Army, Lifewise and Hope) and that the plan is for those organizations to hire a total of 24 disaster case managers. Pearson said the case-management line needs roughly $2.1 million to $2.4 million more to close a current budget gap; he described the work as helping households navigate FEMA, state and other assistance to avoid duplicative payments.

Money for housing and home repair is also committed but not fully spent. The recovery office reported $5 million allocated for home repair, with $2 million deployed through the healthy home repair program administered by CDA. Contracts were awarded to convert 219 vacant units into intermediate housing at four sites (Homer G. Phillips, Murphy Park, Fox Manor and Parkview), but officials said renovation work is just starting. Hill and Pearson warned that the amount available will not shelter all displaced residents this winter unless additional funds or solutions are found.

Debris removal: the committee was told $5.35 million was allocated for debris activities; about $5 million of that is intended for an initial private-property debris-removal contract focused on rights-of-entry and hazardous assessments. Hill said the state has announced it will take on public-assistance private-property debris removal, with a federal advance of roughly $63 million to start that work and a separate state appropriation of $100 million in Senate Bill 1 that the city has been told it may use for private-property cleanup that is not eligible for FEMA public assistance.

Hill noted the technical eligibility rules for FEMA public assistance: federal reimbursement generally covers private properties that were occupied and not already condemned prior to the tornado; vacant or previously condemned properties are unlikely to be eligible. “It covers building demolition and debris removal, mixed tornado waste debris, hazardous trees that are arborist certified, and household hazardous waste,” he said. He added the recovery office will do rights-of-entry and hazardous-site assessments and that private-property eligibility will be determined during that process.

Public comment reflected urgent neighborhood concerns. Danny Eichenhorst, co-owner of Steve’s Hot Dogs in the Delmar Maker District, said local businesses remain at 30%–50% of normal revenue and asked the city for direct, forgivable grants rather than loans. “By supporting us, you support recovery, jobs, and the heartbeat of neighborhoods that desperately need it,” Eichenhorst said. Community organizer Melanie Marie criticized branding and outreach efforts and urged that funds go directly to impacted residents and neighborhoods rather than to projects perceived as displacement. “We are tired. We are organized, and we are watching,” Marie said.

Committee members pressed staff for clearer counts and timelines. Alderman Devotee asked how many people still lack housing; Hill and Pearson said programmatic counts are maintained by housing partners and that “there are thousands” still in noncongregate sheltering or temporary arrangements, and that the $7 million remaining in RAMS interest will not be sufficient to house everyone before winter. Committee members also requested monthly briefings and emphasized the need to speed contracting and RFP processes where possible.

What’s next: recovery staff said they will continue reviewing nonprofit grant applications, finalize contracts to convert the 219 units, complete rights-of-entry and hazardous-site assessments for debris removal, and work with state and federal partners on public-assistance details. The committee reiterated a request for regular updates and urged the administration to pursue additional funding options promptly.

The committee meeting concluded with a reminder that the Budget and Public Employees Committee will continue monthly oversight of the RAMS-interest deployment and that aldermen and staff will need to consider additional appropriations or reallocations to cover winter housing and unmet needs if costs and eligibility gaps remain.