BLOOMFIELD, Mo. - Four townships in Stoddard County are eligible to receive an estimated $118,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for repairs to roads and bridges after flooding from May 29 to June 10, 2013. Pike, New Lisbon, Duck Creek and Castor Townships are eligible to receive funding after Gov. Jay Nixon included north Stoddard County in a disaster declaration July 5 due to severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding in parts of the state.
The declaration was approved July 19. Other Southeast Missouri counties receiving disaster assistance are Cape Girardeau and Perry. Cape Girardeau County is eligible for up to $750,000 and Perry County is eligible for up to $220,000. Public assistance meetings were held July 30-31 in Perry and Cape Girardeau Counties by the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to show state agencies, local governments and certain not-for-profit organizations how to submit applications for federal assistance.
The most damage occurred in Duck Creek and Castor Townships during heavy rains on May 29.
Duck Creek Township Board Member Doug Siler said the township has submitted approximately $40,000 to SEMA for reimbursement for cleanup and repairs from flooding. The major cost to the township was repairing gravel roads that were washed out by flooding and for cleaning up debris from roadways after flooding.
Siler said the township terrain is made up of rolling hills, and flash floods damaged the rural roads. He said the township spent considerable time picking up debris left from the flooding, as well as hauling gravel to repair washed out roads. There was no damage to bridges.
Siler noted that the township has yet to receive nearly $80,000 in FEMA funding as a result of the flood in 2011.
"They still haven't paid that yet," said Siler.
He said they were fortunate to have had the money to do the necessary work. He said SEMA officials have told township officials the reimbursement for the 2011 flood will be received in August.
Castor Township had major damage to two bridges from the flood. Castor Township Board Member Ron Williams said township officials were to meet this week to determine the costs that will be submitted to SEMA for reimbursement. He said there was a possibility they may not submit any request for funds from FEMA to rebuild the bridges. Williams said the township replaced the bridges using eight-foot metal horns, which was the least expensive route. He pointed to the drawn out process and large expense of rebuilding a bridge on County Road 410 after the 2011 flood. That bridge has yet to be rebuilt.
FEMA requires a local match and the township did not have the money. They attempted to get a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), but the funding was never made available. The county has decided to help with the project to earn soft match money for the BRO program. The bridge has been programmed and Smith and Company has been hired to design the bridge. It has yet to be put out for bids.
Williams said most of the other work dealt with repairs to gravel roads which were damaged by the flash floods.
Pike Township Board Member Robert Morris said the township was seeking approximately $16,000 in FEMA funds for repairs to gravel roads and for picking up debris after the floods. He said the total was lower than the $25,000 originally estimated. The township had already submitted the paperwork to SEMA for reimbursement for labor and materials used to make repairs. He said a large culvert was "washed out" and had to be replaced. No bridges were damaged.
New Lisbon Township was also part of the disaster declaration. New Lisbon Township Trustee Jerry Robison said the township is still completing paperwork to be submitted to SEMA. He estimated the cost of repairs to be around $20,000, with most of the cost going for repairs to township gravel roads that were damaged by the flood.
"The damage to our roads was massive," said Robison. "Just about every road was damaged."
"We got around six inches of rain in a very short time," Robison explained about why the damage occurred.
Robison said they would be submitting their paperwork for reimbursement for these costs by the Aug. 15 deadline.
He said rains this week were also causing problems on roads in the township.
"Our one grader operator has been working 10 hours a day, trying to keep up," Robison said.
Stoddard County Emergency Services Agency Coordinator Kent Polsgrove said he was concerned that the available funding announced by SEMA would not be sufficient to cover the costs of repairs from the spring floods, especially the bridge that were damaged in Castor Township. He said it was his understanding that the $118,000 was an estimate, with more available if the work was documented and eligible for FEMA funds.
All paperwork by the townships has to be submitted to SEMA by the Aug. 15.