Carter County says FEMA will cover only 50 percent of flood repairs

VAN BUREN, Mo. -- Officials in Carter County said recovery dollars from the Federal Emergency Management Agency could total only half of what is needed to repair the courthouse, sheriff's department and jail.

The matter was discussed Monday by commissioners, county clerk, sheriff and a representative of U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill's office.

FEMA has said it will pay only 50 percent of damages because no flood insurance was carried for these buildings, presiding commissioner Donald Black said.

It is one of many issues the commissioners say they still are fighting, four months after Van Buren's downtown was devastated by a flood that broke century-old records.

The smell of mold is evident from the outside of the concrete-block building that once held the Carter County Jail.

A peek inside an open doorway reveals the black substance clings to dangling light fixtures and every available surface.

The Current River poured through the building in May, filling it to the rafters and leaving behind dozens of cracks in the foundation and walls.

But it could be salvageable. At least according to FEMA, which still is debating how much the damage is worth.

FEMA is releasing recovery money to Carter County at less than a trickle, according to officials.

They said they are frustrated, confused and concerned their small county will not receive the help federal officials promised.

After three assessment visits, Black said FEMA still has questions.

The county has no ability to recover without the full support of the federal government, he told Christy Mercer, district director for McCaskill.

It needs $60,000 to replace election equipment before April, Black said as an example.

The state and federal government are prepared to release only about $20,000 of that amount.

They took 50 percent off the top because of the lack of flood insurance and held 25 percent of the remaining money until the flood recovery work is done, he said.

It could take years before the final 25 percent for this and other projects are released, Black said.

The county has been criticized by some FEMA representatives for gutting the courthouse before assessments were complete, but by others for failing to remove the same water-logged material at the jail.

He was told the county did not need an assessment of the courthouse air conditioning units, only to later be asked for an emergency report on the same equipment.

The county provided copies of courthouse blueprints to one assessment team, yet a later team never saw the blueprints and needed new copies.

"We'll do anything that's required of us. The trouble is, I don't think they know what's required," Black said.

He received another lengthy questionnaire this week. What are the exact number and location of every electrical outlet in the stripped courthouse first floor? Will the county reuse any of the hardware on the doors?

"All summer, we've been dealing with paperwork," Black said.

The county has set up shop in a series of FEMA trailers parked in a gravel lot outside a former quilting business. The sheriff's department is using outhouses, while other offices in the trailers have no water, Black said.

The commissioners' chambers sit inside the former business.

The space doubles as a storage room for county offices, with a table pushed in between shelves of office supplies.

It is also the jury room for the trials held in a courtroom on the other side of the wall.

"They're spending a lot of money trying to fight us on a little bit of money," said Lynn Murdick, western district commissioner.

"We just need somebody to help us. We need a voice," Black said later.

There is no cash reserve to move forward, he said. The county has an emergency fund of less than $27,000, the amount required by state statute. The general fund cash reserve is less than $300,000.

Just one of the outstanding bills would be enough to bankrupt the county, officials said.

The county already has turned in more than $600,000 in damages related to flood response and damage to county buildings and roads. The total is expected to climb, but final estimates have not been released by FEMA, the county said.

The county can't even pay outstanding bills to the contractor that helped save the courthouse from the same mold that has consumed the jail, at a $130,000 cost.

Carter County also owes over $100,000 to the city of West Plains for debris disposal, money to the contractor that transported the debris and other bills for equipment and services to get a Van Buren sewer district operating again.

"It almost feels like they're doing more and more site visits until they get the answer they need," county clerk Leona Stephens said.

Officials said there were many reasons why the county property did not carry flood insurance.

The sheriff's department was not required to have it when a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan was used to expand its operations, the sheriff said. That's a sign it wasn't needed, Stephens said.

Stephens does not believe the courthouse ever has carried flood insurance. She said the current policy is a continuation of one in place when she and Black were elected in 2015.

Inquiries were made to their local agent, a representative of Trident Insurance, and she was told flood insurance would not benefit the county, Stephens said.

To add to the county's problems, sales-tax revenue is down more than 6 percent to date because of so many lost businesses and a missed tourism season. It will likely be worse by the end of the year, Black said.

The county also has prorated property taxes on 200 structures damaged by the flood, he said.

He has watched the plans for FEMA to move to Texas and Florida with interest.

"How are they going to take care of 4 million people when you've got a county of 6,000 people in your state that you can't take care of?" he said.

Black said he fears the county's problems will be forgotten now.

"We're just a really small potato in this deal," Black said.

These are problems that can be resolved, said Mercer, who asked the county to compile a list of priorities.