Allegany County outlines recovery steps after major flooding, says FEMA paperwork due soon and funds may be needed up front

County leaders gave commissioners a status update on flood response and recovery after severe flooding canceled last week's meeting. Roger (county staff) and Adam (public works) summarized rescue operations, sheltering, donations and infrastructure damage and outlined next steps to pursue federal and state assistance.

Roger said emergency responders and mutual aid from Garrett and Washington counties had been critical in initial operations and that while shelters are closed now, meal distribution and warehousing of donated goods continue, with four distribution centers managing local needs. He described ongoing challenges with warehousing and distribution logistics, noted continuing road stability concerns in areas including Westport to Bloomington, and said geotechnical review and planning with State Highway were underway.

Roger and Adam described infrastructure damage to roads, shoulders, bridges, water and sewer lines. Adam said sewer-line failures present a public‑health concern and that contractors were on site in Georges Creek and Braddock Run to address the most critical issues. The county is compiling a preliminary damage assessment to submit to the state and FEMA; Roger said county staff were asked to provide assessments quickly (staff aimed to submit materials by the next day) so FEMA could send teams to do damage interviews and help determine whether a presidential declaration and public assistance funding thresholds would be met.

Staff outlined multiple recovery funding avenues: FEMA public assistance (staff cited a public assistance threshold of roughly $11,600,000), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) low‑interest loans (0%–1%), and Maryland's newly implemented State Disaster Recovery Fund (administrative rules referenced as COMAR in the discussion). Roger said Allegany County expects to be among the first jurisdictions to apply under the state fund and that the county has already been attached to a neighboring county's SBA application, making small-business loans available immediately. Staff noted FEMA's percentage-based funding could vary widely depending on infrastructure vs. individual damage calculations.

Because many recovery actions are urgent, commissioners directed staff to include on the evening's formal agenda an item to temporarily suspend some county procurement rules so public-works projects can be fast-tracked. County leadership said legal research supports a temporary suspension that would remain compatible with later FEMA reimbursements but stressed staff must still contingency-plan in case federal or state reimbursement is not approved.

On short-term financing, staff proposed using emergency fund balance set aside for incidents to cover immediate expenses, estimating short-term needs could be "a couple $100,000, most likely a million or 2 or 3," while developing a fallback borrowing plan such as a bond if reimbursements do not materialize. Commissioners and staff stressed the need to act quickly to secure contractors, protect infrastructure and keep communities safe, and said more detailed budget amendments would follow as damage estimates firmed up.

No formal board votes were recorded during the work session; commissioners thanked responders and staff and asked for continued updates.