St. Louis recovery office plans sharp ramp-up of demolitions and repairs but warns of funding gap

St. Louis City recovery officials presented a sweeping update on March 25 to the Budget & Public Employees Committee on how Grama settlement interest funds and other allocations are being used to accelerate tornado recovery work across North St. Louis.

Julian Nicks, chief in the mayor's Office recovery team, said the office is sharpening its focus on two priorities: improving residents'ability to navigate recovery supports and delivering visible neighborhood recovery through demolition and home repairs. "Our top priority ... is on visible neighborhood recovery, really focusing on scaling demolition and repairs on private property," Nicks said. He told the committee the team has a plan to demolish about 250 to 275 structures by August and to begin ramping rapid-repair work in April.

Jennifer Brinkman, director of Recovery Innovation, outlined direct resident services and case-management work. She said the city's outreach has enrolled more than 1,300 people in disaster case management and that rental-assistance spending is accelerating: "There's significant acceleration in the rental assistance program in particular with $1,200,000 already spent on leases of the 112 approved," Brinkman said.

Laura, who…