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Relief meeting draws large crowd |
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Friday, 18 April 2008 |
 A LARGE CROWD listens Thursday night as state Sen. Shane Broadway of Bryant outlines procedures for storm vicftims to receive aid following the April 3 tornadoes and flooding in Saline County. About 650 people attended the meeting at First Pentecostal Church in Bryant. Numerous local, state and federal officials provided information.
Courier StaffAbout 650 attended a public meeting Thursday night to learn their options for disaster relief after the April 3 storms that produced three tornadoes and flooding in Saline County.
People filled the pews in the sanctuary at First Pentecostal Church off Arkansas 5 North in Bryant, the site where a shelter was set up for more than a week following the storms.
In the genial, two-hour meeting, representatives of the Federal Emergency Man-agement Agency, Floodplain Management, Department of Workforce Services and other agencies addressed the crowd on the necessary steps to receive the desired assistance.
Numerous packets of information and brochures were scattered on a table in the church foyer for the taking.
The biggest concerns expressed by audience members during the question-and-answer portion of the meeting regarded the removal of destroyed mobile homes from the Hurricane Lake Mobile Home Park and flooding that occurred in various neighborhoods in the county.
The mobile home park off Arkansas 5 was one of the hardest hit areas. People whose homes were not destroyed were able to return to the wreckage just last week when power was restored.
Susan Tompkins, section chief for FEMA’s individual assistance program, said FEMA can’t be responsible for the removal of mobile homes.
Wanda Jones, who lived in a mobile home, said her insurance wouldn’t pay for it.
There might be way for the local governments to intervene.
Benton, Bryant and Haskell mayors, along with County Judge Lanny Fite, met with Becky Crum, a FEMA public assistance officer, to discuss how the governments can relieve residents with debris cleanup in public right-of-way.
Fite said FEMA will pay 75 percent of the cleanup costs, the state will pay 12.5 percent and the local governments will pay the other 12.5 percent.
Between the road cleanup and road repairs, Fite expects it to cost the county around $1.5 million.
Cleanup of public right-of-way will begin Tuesday morning. Fite emphasized that debris must be separated; vegetation from building materials. It has to be tornado related, he said.
A second pass will take place in all areas, but only two pickups will occur, he said. When the second pickup will take place hasn’t been determined, Fite said.
Fite and other officials from Thursday’s meeting, such as Sen. Shane Broadway, D-Bryant, encouraged people to begin separating the debris and placing it on the curb so it’s ready for pickup.
In regard to the flooding issues, several residents expressed confusion over the fact that when they bought their homes they were told it wasn’t in a floodplain; however, now FEMA is showing that some of these areas are in a floodplain. Residents were unclear how to determine if they’re property lies in a floodplain.
Officials encouraged them to go ahead and file a claim through FEMA.
Roy McClure, planning supervisor with Floodplain Management, noted that all the governments in Saline County participate in the National Flood Insurance program. That means that flood insurance is available to everyone living in the county, he said. All insurance agents should sell it, he said, noting that if one says he doesn’t, go to another agent.
In regard to personal property, Saline County Assessor Jim Crawford asked that people who have damaged/destroyed cars, trucks or boats to call his office at 303-5622 "so we can address that." The normal deadline to get property off the books is May 31, he said.
Broadway said if people affected by the storms hadn’t filed state income tax, the deadline has been extended to Aug. 15. The federal tax deadline has been extended to May 27, he said.
The deadline to register for FEMA assistance is May 27. A local disaster recovery office will be set up, likely in Benton, Tompkins said. The location has not been determined, but once it is chosen, representatives will be there from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, she said. |
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