By Derek Spellman

dspellman@joplinglobe.com

NEOSHO, Mo. — Newton County has been awarded money to help some residents with repairs made necessary by storms in May 2008.

County officials learned Wednesday that the county has been awarded an almost $1.3 million grant for repair or replacement of houses that were damaged or destroyed last year. Over the past year, the county has sought additional federal assistance multiple times, including appeals to former President Bush and President Obama.

“It pays to stay in there,” said Presiding Commissioner Jerry Carter.

The Community Development Block Grant money will be used to help families rebuild or rehabilitate homes that were damaged by last year’s devastating storm. In some cases, it could be used for down payments and closing costs for families who either lacked insurance or were under-insured when the tornado hit.

“We are really grateful and thankful for the help,” Carter said.

The county had applied for $3 million in grant money earlier this year, although officials did not expect to receive the full amount. The grant, which does not require a local match, originated as federal funding but was allocated by the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

Individual homeowners, renters and businesses affected by the tornado were eligible for federal assistance under a private-sector disaster declaration that was issued a couple of weeks after the storm.

An estimated 45 families still need repairs to bring their dwellings up to livable standards in the wake of the tornado, said Gary Roark, the county’s emergency management director. An additional 23 families are in need of replacement homes.

Newton County applied for the grant after multiple unsuccessful efforts to obtain a public-sector disaster declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

A public-disaster declaration would have allowed the county to recover the cost of debris removal and disposal. Under that scenario, homeowners would have hauled their debris to the roadside for collection by contractors the county would have hired.

FEMA denied the declaration on the grounds that the three Missouri counties hit by the tornado system — Newton, Jasper and Barry — would have needed to sustain about $6.94 million in cleanup costs and damage in the public sector to qualify, based on their populations. The three sustained about $6.2 million in damage, most of it in Newton County, FEMA determined.

In its application for $3 million in grant money, Newton County had asked for funding for homeowners, renters or property owners to dispose of storm debris remaining on their properties.

John Fougere, a spokesman for the Department of Economic Development, said debris removal was eligible for grant money, but there were not enough funds available for that plus the assistance for home reconstruction.

A total of 15 projects, including Newton County’s, statewide received $9.5 million in grants. The state received 36 applications seeking a total of $19 million, Fougere said. Local governments in areas that received a presidential disaster declaration last year were eligible to apply.

Roark said the county still confronts the problem of debris removal.

“That is a very high priority for us,” he said.

The county likely will have to chip away at it as it can, he said.

Carter said officials have not abandoned hopes for federal assistance for repairs to damaged roads and for debris disposal.

“We still think there is FEMA money and stimulus money available,” he said.

As for the mechanics of how the grant money will be administered and how soon it will be available to residents, Carter said those are still to be determined. The county, in cooperation with the Harry S. Truman Coordinating Council, will distribute the money.

“We have no guidelines on it right now,” Carter said.





Block grants



Newton County’s disaster-relief work was one of 15 projects in Missouri to receive Community Development Block Grant funding this week. Other projects include $2.5 million to Hannibal for a buyout of commercial properties affected by flooding, and $1.88 million to Silex to be used for a buyout of residential properties and the installation of infrastructure in a new residential area outside of a flood plain.