FEMA center closes, but help still available

MAT-SU -- The Federal Emergency Disaster Recovery Center in Palmer is now closed, but people wishing to apply for assistance may still contact FEMA and the Small Business Administration.

FEMA staff opened an office in the Mat-Su Borough gymnasium May 7, along with a center in Anchorage, after the Southcentral Alaska area was declared a federal disaster. The disaster declaration came as a result of the March 6 through 14 wind storms that gusted to between 95 and 110 miles per hour in some areas.

The centers were geared to answer people's questions after they had completed an interview using the FEMA hotline. Officials at the time said the office was expected to stay open for two weeks. With the two-week time frame drawing to a close, FEMA staff are preparing to scale back their efforts. According to information released from FEMA Monday, 113 people visited the center in Palmer to ask for assistance, and another 62 stopped by the Anchorage office, but a recent day saw only four visitors in Anchorage and two in Palmer.

According to information from FEMA, more damage was done to public facilities than to private homes during the wind storm. Public damage assessments estimate the total damage to public facilities in the Mat-Su at $1.2 million. Anchorage public facilities saw about $1.5 million in damage, and about $500,000 was reported in Kenai.

In the Mat-Su, 160 fires were reported and four homes were lost. Across the area, 127 acres were consumed through wildland fires and damage was reported at several public buildings. Much of the damage came from frozen pipes, water damage, downed power lines, roof damage and limited debris removal.

The City of Palmer recently received $31,000 from the federal government to repair eligible storm-damage public facilities and equipment. The money will be used to defray the cost of unscheduled emergency-response costs that resulted from the severe winds and freezing temperatures during the storm.

"The funds for the City of Palmer will come from FEMA's public assistance program," said William Lokey, FEMA's federal coordinating officer. "Public assistance is a cost-share program between the federal government and state and local government. The federal government pays 75 percent of project costs and the state and local partners pay 25 percent. FEMA's 75-percent share will amount to $23,250 in Palmer."

The public assistance program provides funding for eligible emergency work, such as police and firefighter overtime, the extraordinary use of equipment and debris removal. Funds for eligible permanent projects may include repairs to roads and bridges, government facilities and public utilities. State and local government agencies and certain nonprofit entities that provide government-type services are eligible to apply.

Funding was approved to repair four projects in Palmer.

Palmer City Manager Tom Healy said the funding will offset demands placed on the city's coffers as a result of the storm. At the city's downtown historic depot building, Healy said, a power line pole blew down and the building froze up, causing damage to waterlines and in other areas of the recently renovated building.

The funding, Healy said, will also help pay for the added overtime hours put in by Palmer Police officers and city firefighters.

"We had quite a bit of police overtime … [and] there was a lot of firefighter time we had to pay out," Healy said. "Those folks were very busy."

Windows were broken out during the windstorm at the city's flight service station, an FAA-staffed building where information is dispersed to pilots at the station. Funding will pay to repair that damage, as well as damage to city vehicles from the windstorm. Several fire service vehicles had problems resulting from the cold and wind chill reportedly approaching 55 degrees below zero. Gauges and pumps, he said, succumbed to the cold and some vehicles froze up. A police car, he said, was damaged when the wind caught a door being opened by an officer and whipped it backward.

Healy said the 25-percent matching funds will be made up through various city funds and other funding from the federal government. Compared with damage in other areas, such as the loss of roofs on borough schools and the Cottonwood Creek Public Safety Building, for example, Healy said, Palmer fared well.

"I think Palmer actually came out of it pretty well," Healy said. "We were fortunate in not having suffered those big-dollar costs."

Palmer's assistance is the first in what may be a number of grants for repair.

"We've had 19 local government agencies and public nonprofit utilities apply for FEMA aid since the declaration," said Ron Hormann, public assistance officer with FEMA. "With the completion of the City of Palmer, FEMA has completed 16 percent of its public assistance applications."

Charlie Henderson, FEMA's public information officer, said closing the disaster recovery center does not mean FEMA will stop working in Alaska.

"We will continue to be here as long as we're needed," Henderson said.

Although FEMA staff will continue to take applications, answer questions and inspect property damage, the time is drawing near for people to get their FEMA and SBA applications turned in. Henderson explained that people who live in the affected areas have only 60 days from the date a disaster is declared to apply for FEMA assistance. In this instance, that date is June 25.

The application can be made regardless of whether there was significant property damage or not. If someone, for example, does not apply with FEMA, thinking they have very little disaster damage and finds out six months later that there was, indeed significant property damage, the person, having missed the application deadline, has no access to disaster-related assistance.

Penney Rimbey, the officer in charge of this disaster situation for SBA, said a similar situation occurs for SBA funding. As of June 25, SBA officials will no longer be able to accept loan applications, Rimbey said. Thus far, nearly 600 loan applications have been handed out, with only about 40 returned to SBA.

"It's been very slow," Rimbey said. "I'm guessing it's possibly because of the insurance people have."

Rimbey added that turning in an SBA loan application does not mean applicants must accept a loan.

"Everything is flexible as far as loans are concerned," Rimbey said. "If they get the application in before the deadline, they're not obliged to [accept the loan.] The main thing is to get it in there before the deadline."

Applications for assistance from FEMA will still be accepted through June 25. That date is also the deadline for Small Business Administration loan applications. To apply for FEMA assistance, call the hotline at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). The hearing or speech impaired may call the TTY access number at 1-800-462-7585.

The numbers will be available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week until further notice. A second help line for people who need assistance with their SBA loan is available at 1-800-488-5323.