Officials answer questions about public assistance

Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency explained how to categorize damages incurred because of storms in June to local township, county and city leaders Wednesday morning.
About 33 people attended the meeting at the Freeborn County Courthouse. Local leaders were encouraged to ask specific questions about their damages.
Normally this first meeting would be done on a one-on-one basis, but FEMA Public Assistance Officer Gerald Eyink thought it might be better to meet everyone at once to get questions answered.
“We gather your information and damages and put it into a category,” Eyink said.
The categories define different kinds of damages like debris removal and building or road damage. Eyink also said that regular work hours would not be reimbursed but any overtime hours would be from the night of the storm. Regular work hours working on fixing damaged areas are eligible for reimbursement. There is also reimbursement available for use of equipment such as fire trucks.
“I’m going to work with you,” Eyink said.
Eyink introduced two project specialists who will be out meeting people and assessing damage. Tim Konek and Bob Lynn will be in charge of different areas in Freeborn County. Applications from local governments are due by Aug. 2, which is a month after the disaster was declared. Within 30 days of meeting with FEMA project specialists, a final project plan must be completed. All work must then be completed by Jan. 2, 2012, which is 18 months after the disaster was declared.
Federal funding will make up 75 percent of the cost of all damages, and state funding will be determined during the next legislative session but is usually around 15 to 25 percent. Local leaders were told to expect to have to pay around 10 percent of all costs incurred because of the storms.
For areas with public building damage, leaders were told to have insurance policies ready for their project specialists. FEMA is able to reimburse non-insured losses or help with deductibles.
County Emergency Manager Mark Roche was also at the meeting. He said the meeting was useful so all the city and township leaders could make sure all their paperwork was ready before they meet with a project specialist.
A FEMA environmental specialist, David Sabrowsky, also spoke at the meeting to talk with leaders about environmental concerns. He said he’s tried to find Minnesota laws that apply to this situation so he can recommend what to do with debris or hazardous materials.