County makes disaster declaration after storms

FORUM FILE PHOTO
Nodaway County Administration Center (copy)

MARYVILLE, Mo. — The Nodaway County Commission last week made a disaster declaration after severe storms beginning the weekend of May 16, paving the way for possible federal funding.

Although there was no private property damage reported, the heavy rains from multiple rounds of storms that rolled through that weekend and through Monday, May 18, did considerable damage to gravel roads throughout the county. During a meeting with Nodaway County Emergency Management Director Christy Forney on May 21, the commissioners detailed reports from township officials of extensive damage, including clogged drainage tubes and washed-away gravel that made some roads difficult to traverse or impassable for days.

Gov. Mike Kehoe declared a state of emergency in the affected counties, which allows local governments to seek reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Forney stressed that the reimbursement would only be to restore the damaged infrastructure to its previous state, not for any improvements.

Maryville Public Works Director Matt Smith was also in attendance as the highest ranking city official in town while most other city administrators were away at a conference. The county declaration includes the city of Maryville.

Smith said the major areas of damage in the city were along a section of Third Street and especially a tube on East 16th Street. He gave a very rough estimate of repairs that would cost around $200,000.

Forney said the threshold to qualify for federal assistance is $103,231.26, which the county would easily clear.

Although the commissioners expressed frustration over previous encounters with FEMA that left the county without any reimbursement during a disaster, they settled on estimating the cost of repairing the gravel roads, plus the city damages, at around $1 million. That number will become firmer as they gather more details about the damage and the cost of repairs.