Dougherty board gets storm reimbursement update

ALBANY — The state of Georgia was notified last week that it will receive nearly $65 million in federal assistance to address “unmet needs” in areas in the southern part of the state that were affected by major disasters in 2017.

Funding, made available through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program, will be directed and administered by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

At the Dougherty County Commission’s regular meeting on Monday, Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas updated the board on the status of the federal assistance as well as ongoing efforts to obtain additional disaster reimbursement funds in regard to January 2017 storms that ravaged the county.

“Our efforts have been noticed and have been quite fruitful,” Cohilas told the commissioners. “As you are all aware, we have been working in collaboration with the state to complete a long-term recovery plan in helping this community recover following the January disasters that caused tremendous damage across the city and the county. We are following a model which was used in Joplin, Mo., after an EF5 tornado that devastated that community in 2011.

“If you look at what Joplin accomplished in just five years, it has become a more economically viable entity and far more vibrant. Their vision is very similar to what this County Commission has expressed to staff, which has been internalized in the long-term recovery process.”

Cohilas added that to be successful at the federal level, it is necessary to partner with the state. Gov. Nathan Deal recently requested $200 million (from HUD) in CDGB funding.

“I don’t believe the state has ever sought and received an allocation from HUD before,” Cohilas said. “This is a unique disaster and a unique situation, but we worked hard and we worked fast and because of our long-term recovery committee, we put out projects that were tailored to what the community needed. It allowed us to have a sophisticated voice.

“We wanted to make sure our needs were contemplated in the disaster recovery bill. Sixty-four million dollars were given to the state of Georgia, and Dougherty County was the predominating voice in that decision.”

Cohilas said the exact allocation from the state to local governments should be revealed in the the next several months.

Funds will be prioritized for use in the most impacted and distressed areas to facilitate long-term recovery through the restoration of infrastructure and housing, mitigation to protect from predictable future damage, and economic revitalization. DCA is actively working with HUD to hone program details and will be communicating and coordinating directly with local governments in eligible disaster areas.

“We are still receiving reimbursement money, but it is a complicated process,” interim County Administrator Mike McCoy said. “We are dealing with different bureaucracies with different processes.”

In action items at Monday’s meeting, the county approved $23,850 for an electronic sign at Chehaw; $22,497 for a 2018 Ford transit van from Sunbelt Ford of Albany; $218,355 to replace and install four air handler units for the county’s mental health facility; $300,000 to replace the roof on the county’s central square office building at 240 Pine Ave.; applying for a $401,000 criminal justice grant for Functional Family Therapy use; and a recommendation from the Tax Assessors Board for a salary equalization adjustment for the Dougherty Chief Appraiser in the amount of $72,104..