Counties to receive disaster aid

Recovery center to open once good location found

BENTONVILLE — Benton County officials hope they can obtain more disaster assistance than they have in the past after heavy rain and flooding hit the area in late April.

A federal disaster declaration for Arkansas covering the April 26 through May 19 flooding was announced Thursday. The declaration makes Benton and Washington counties eligible to receive up to 75 percent of repair costs from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Individuals in both counties also will be eligible for disaster assistance. A disaster recovery center for the two- county area will open in Washington County once a suitable location has been identified. Individual assistance also applies to businesses damaged by the storm.

“We’ve already started checking on several possible locations,” Rick Johnson, Washington County’s deputy director of emergency services, said Thursday. “It has to be some place large enough to handle all of the

agencies and all of the people. We have to find a location with parking and restrooms and air-conditioning. We’re looking at having the center open anywhere from two weeks to a month or more.”

Benton County Judge Barry Moehring and Robert McGowen, emergency services administrator, said Thursday the county is working to obtain state and federal money not used in the past. They said state grant money and funding from the federal Highway Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture may boost the county’s recovery efforts.

Benton County officials have identified more than 300 damage sites and estimated repair costs at $ 2.9 million, with additional damage in the cities. Washington County officials said the damage repair estimate for the county was $3 million to $ 3.5 million, with more than $2 million reported in cities.

Arkansas’ Department of Emergency Management has a grant program making money available annually, according to information provided by Benton County officials. The hazard mitigation grant provides money under a 50-50 matching arrangement. The county has identified eight sites that could be eligible. McGowen estimated the cost to do the work at those sites at $294,250.

The USDA program provides local governments with money under a 75-25 match, with the local contribution being the 25 percent, to do stream bank repair work. The county hasn’t yet applied for that funding

The federal Highway Administration provides money to construct and maintain certain highways. Benton County officials have identified as many as 70 sites that could be covered by the program. The federal program pays all of the cost if the work is done within 180 days.

The program pays 80 percent of the cost if the work takes longer than 180 days.

County officials will evaluate the storm damage repairs and the work planned in the normal road plan. Moehring said it might be necessary to hire contractors to do some work to meet the timelines of the federal agencies and to keep the normal work on schedule.

Pat Adams, justice of the peace and chairman of the Benton County’s Transportation Committee, favors contractors to help meet timelines for disaster assistance.

“I know it may cost more to contract it out, but we’re not in this to make money. We’re in this to fix it right and, if possible, to not have to go through this again,” Adams said.

The Sunshine School & Development Center in Rogers was able to rally community support to cover about $7,000 in flood damage not covered by insurance. Chelle Phillips, the school’s communications and events coordinator, said Thursday a fundraising effort netted about $2,000 and an anonymous donor will pick up the remaining cost.