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Mayor: Washington County records about $142 million in flood damages, receives first major FEMA reimbursement
Summary
Mayor Grandandy told commissioners the county has roughly $142 million in flood damages, that 119 homes were destroyed and 70 rebuilt, and that the county received its first significant FEMA reimbursement (reported in the meeting at about $5.52 million) covering road and bridge repairs; more projects are in FEMA's pipeline.
Mayor Grandandy updated the Board of Commissioners on flood recovery work and federal reimbursements, reporting an estimated $142 million in total damages from the storm and detailing progress on infrastructure repairs.
"Looks like to this point we're looking at a little over $140 million, $142 million in total damages," the mayor said, and noted that 119 homes were completely eliminated by the flood. He said 70 homes have been rebuilt and are occupied and about 30 are under construction.
The mayor announced the county had received its first major reimbursement from FEMA for projects that included rebuilding the road and bridge at Little Germany; in the meeting he stated the reimbursement amount as roughly $5.52 million. He described a typical federal-state-local cost-share for these projects (federal ~75%, state ~20%, local ~5%) and said additional obligated projects totaling about $44 million are already in the FEMA pipeline.
Commissioners asked how reimbursements will proceed and whether the county should wait for federal obligations before moving forward on major projects. The mayor said some projects will be advanced while others will wait until federal obligations are in place; he cited Corby Bridge as an upcoming large project (estimated design cost currently in the tens of millions and still under design) that must work through FEMA's process.
The mayor also credited NRCS, the highway department and contracted partners for rebuilding roads and bridges and said some projects funded at 100% by NRCS have already been reimbursed quickly. He said the county expects a second payment in the coming weeks that will cover additional road repairs.
What's next: The county will continue to submit projects for FEMA obligation and reimbursement, complete Corby Bridge design and consider whether to advance certain rebuilds before federal funds are fully obligated.
