Benton County Still Repairing Flood Damage

Thursday, March 27, 2014

— Benton County is still working to repair damage from an April flood, and officials said work on more extensive flood damage from August will continue into 2015.

"For the spring flood, about 98 percent of it is complete," Terry Nalley, public services administrator, said Wednesday. Nalley oversees the Road Department that's tasked with repairing roads and bridges damaged.

AT A GLANCE

Road Work

The Benton County Quorum Court reduced the Road Department’s asphalt budget $450,000 this year to provide money for rural ambulance service. The budget cuts reduced the planned paving program from about 35 miles to 22 miles.

Source: Staff Report

The April 18 flooding, coupled with additional damage from a May 8 flood, was part of a large enough event to qualify for state disaster aid. It wasn't large enough for federal assistance. Robert McGowen, emergency management director, said one difference for the county is the level of reimbursement for repairs.

The April flooding qualifies for reimbursement under the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management. The state will reimburse the county for 35 percent of the cost, McGowen said. Since all of the work isn't completed, the county hasn't yet received any money from the state. Nalley estimated the cost that damage at $1 million.

The county has received some reimbursement as the work has been done for the August flooding that qualified for state and federal aid.

Sarah Wilson, comptroller, said the county has received $1,638,546 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for damage from the August flood and another $343,535 from the state for that work. Altogether, the county should be reimbursed for 87.5 percent of its cost, which McGowen estimated at $3.5 million.

McGowen said the county is still working with FEMA on "project worksheets" from the August flooding.

"We lack having two bridge PWs," McGowen said. "The project worksheets define the scope of the work you need to do to get it back to pre-disaster levels."

The project worksheets go through an extensive review once submitted to FEMA, and McGowen has no timetable for approval of the requests for reimbursement.

"Everything is in FEMA's hands," he said. "They've already approved about $3.2 million. The two bridges will be added to that."

Work on the August flood damage will continue throughout this year and into 2015, Nalley said. The county has 241 work sites identified, including work on eight bridges.

"It'll be all year," Nalley said. "Barring any other weather issues, I anticipate going into the early first quarter of next year."

County Judge Bob Clinard said the county has about 1,800 miles of roads, half of which are paved. With that large a network of roads, the county needs to do more paving, not less, he said.

"We have enough money in the budget to overlay or chip and seal about 22 miles," Clinard said. "With 900 miles of paved roads you're never going to get caught up. We don't have the money to maintain, overlay or re-pave the roads we have in this county."

NW News on 03/27/2014