Officials from Orange County met with FEMA and the Texas Department of Emergency Management at the Orange County Expo Center on Wednesday. The meeting was regarding reimbursement by FEMA for damage done in Orange County by flooding of the Neches River earlier this summer. FEMA has certified over 100 counties including Orange that were affected in the disaster. Orange County Emergency Management Director Ryan Peabody said he submitted initially $750,000 of damage assessment countywide to FEMA of which a half million dollars was just for the county’s infrastructure. Peabody indicated the county is eligible to receive up to a 75 percent reimbursement from FEMA while the county would be responsible for a 25 percent matching fee either in cash or in-kind, including labor, material, and use of equipment. The timeline for reimbursement starts in about another two weeks to a month according to Peabody. Once the project kicks off it will take FEMA another 60 days to finalize project figures for reimbursement to Orange County. Joining Peabody in the meeting were County Engineer Clark Slacum, County Auditor Mary Johnson, and Purchasing Agent Connie Cassidy.
Social Media