Rock Valley and the Rock Valley Community School District are receiving millions of dollars in FEMA reimbursements nearly 20 months after last year’s flood.
According to a February 19th release from FEMA Region 7, the City of Rock Valley has been approved for more than $3.7 million for repairs and emergency protective measures. The Rock Valley Community School District has been approved for more than $5.7 million for flood-related building repairs.
Rock Valley City Administrator Tom Van Maanen calls the city’s approval “very, very positive news,” but says the overall recovery effort is far from complete.
The Rock Valley Community School District is also receiving more than $5.7 million in FEMA funding for flood-related building repairs. Like the city’s funding, the district’s approval reimburses expenses already incurred for cleanup and rebuilding following the flood. The city currently has roughly 25 separate FEMA applications tied to flood recovery.
The approved funding reimburses the city for money already spent to restore services after the flood.
That includes replacing equipment lost at the city shop — snowplows, service trucks, mowers, a payloader, and a skid loader — after insurance payouts were applied. FEMA covered the remaining difference.
The city is also being reimbursed for water and sewer work at the campground to provide full utility hookups for displaced residents. In addition, FEMA is covering lease payments for temporary spaces used while the library and city shop remain out of their permanent facilities.
Van Maanen emphasized that the funding does not represent new revenue coming into town.
While waiting for FEMA approvals, the city has borrowed funds to continue recovery work — and has paid roughly $1 million in interest on that debt.
Several major projects are still awaiting FEMA approval, including the reconstruction of the library and city shop, which together total roughly $8 million.
The largest pending request involves housing. The city is still waiting on FEMA approval for a proposed home buyout program valued at approximately $35 million.
Van Maanen said of the federal reimbursement process that it’s a “very long game.”
The funding was part of a broader FEMA approval announced this week that included disaster recovery dollars for other communities in Iowa and Nebraska.
Flooding photo is courtesy of Sioux County Emergency Management.
