Cities briefed on disaster funding

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - City leaders around Hampton Roads met with FEMA and state leaders to learn what information they need to gather to apply for disaster funding from the November Nor' easter.

"Citizens want to see responsiveness and we're less than a month after the initial incident occurred and we've got this process moving and it's moving at a rapid clip," says Chief Ken Jones of the Newport News Fire Department.

From the Peninsula to the Southside, the November Nor' easter swept through and left it's mark.

In Newport News, emergency workers evacuated the City Line Apartments, and for a time you couldn't drive in Hampton Roads without seeing storm debris piled up.

The storm left millions of dollars in damages. Now, it's time for your city to get some of that money back.

"The state is providing them an overview of the public assistance grant program that, if they are in one of the designated cities or counties that was part of this disaster, are eligible to recoup certain costs," says Mike Wade, FEMA Spokesperson.

In a briefing at Newport News Public Works, Hampton Roads city workers packed two rooms to learn important reimbursement steps.

"How you fill out the forms correctly, how you look at the projects so that we can do the most effective way of bundling these packages together with the quickest response for our citizens," says Jones.

Jones says the storm dumped a million dollars worth of damage on Newport News. $650-thousand of that includes city-run buildings and roads.

It's a large portion of that money that's eligible for reimbursement.

"It's a 75/25 split. 75-percent will come from FEMA and the other 25-percent will come from the locality and the state," says Wade.

Emergency workers' overtime and debris clean-up are also eligible. The main goal is to get money back fast, in case it's needed for another rainy day.

"The quicker we can get through this briefing and the kick-off meetings and things like that, then the quicker we can get in the process so it can be reimbursed," says Wade.  "I've seen processes take years to complete total projects because they have to go out to bid...to make sure it's put back to where it's supposed to be done."

Wade also says he's seen some projects takes only months to complete. He says it just depends on the size of the project.

Another briefing is scheduled for Thursday morning in Virginia Beach.