New flood, disaster recovery council begins its work

DES MOINES - A new council to help coordinate the state's flood and disaster recovery efforts started its work Tuesday with warnings that long-term recovery of the state could take years.The council is made of state agency directors, lawmakers and other government officials and led by Lt. Gen. Ron Dardis, who also heads the state's Rebuild Iowa Office.

Dardis said the council will analyze recovery efforts and look at what could be done better as affected communities work to regain their economic stability.

"There's room for improvement, and I think there will be changes that will be recommended and steps we'll take to improve the process as we go forward," Dardis said.

Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, hopes the council keeps its focus on getting results for the victims of the 2008 disasters and holds government officials accountable.

"The recovery really can't be fast enough, it can't be big enough for the city of Cedar Rapids," Hogg told the council.

About 1,300 city blocks were affected by flooding, including around 5,000 residential properties and 1,000 businesses, according to Hogg. About 80 percent of Cedar Rapids' and Linn County's public buildings were flooded, Hogg said.

"Businesses are re-opening, homes slowly are being restored, but life is still far from normal, and the council needs to know that," Hogg said.

Hogg cited problems with an assistance program he said has been slow to get help to victims. The program gives cash grants of up to $2,500 to replace personal items or for child care expenses not covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Nearly 1,000 people in Cedar Rapids have applied for that assistance and as of a few weeks ago, only about 45 people had received assistance, Hogg said.

Hogg also wants the council to keep tabs on a goal set by the Legislature that everyone displaced by disaster is back in permanent housing this year.

Waterloo Mayor Tim Hurley serves on the council in his role as president of the Iowa League of Cities. He said flood recovery efforts continue in his region of the state.

"We've said all along we were hit hard, but we weren't devastated like a lot of the communities, Cedar Rapids for instance downstream," Hurley said. "We're for the most part, back together."

Hurley said the council will be important to help ensure that the follow-up to flood recovery is completed.