City leaders draw attention to FEMA disputes

City Manager Jeff Pomeranz warned the City Council on Tuesday evening about ongoing “disputes” with the Federal Emergency Management Agency that he said could force the city to come up with millions of dollars to cover costs it has expected the federal agency to pay.

“Not to alarm,” Pomeranz said, ” … but there's a lot of money owed to us.”

On Wednesday, Greg Eyerly, the city's flood-recovery director, tallied up a laundry list of city issues with FEMA and said what the city had hoped to get from FEMA could fall short by $160.6 million.

“The city of Cedar Rapids has reached a critical point in our recovery and we need resolution from FEMA on a variety of unresolved and open issues,” Eyerly said.

Eyerly's comments came as city officials were headed into an afternoon meeting with a FEMA representative at City Hall.

Afterward, Eyerly said the meeting didn't resolve anything. FEMA has asked for additional clarification and more information from the city, he said.

“Most everything is under review,” he continued. “Some of the issues we have been awaiting an answer on are from 2009. ‘It's at HQ, and we have little or no control,'” he said a FEMA representative said.

In his budget proposal to the City Council on Tuesday evening, Pomeranz drew attention to $22 million in city spending for demolition costs at the Sinclair plant, demolition of flood-damaged homes and climate control at flood-damaged city facilities for which the city has not been reimbursed.

He said the city's “flood” budget, into which federal and state disaster dollars come, has a deficit of $74 million, though much of that represents federal Community Development Block Grant funds he suggested were not in dispute.

In his tally on Wednesday, Eyerly said FEMA had yet to approve disaster funding for 16 projects, which the city had hoped to receive some $67.9 million in support for. The city already has performed some work on the projects.

He also said the city was appealing $32.7 million in denied reimbursements related to the Sinclair and Quality Chef plants, steam, vaccinations and some demolitions of private structures.

The city continues to hope for $17.7 million in disaster payments for use on other projects because of damage to the Quality Chef property, street and sewer damage, the First Street Parkade, the bus depot and other projects.

The city also still is awaiting answers, he said, so it can proceed with a new Central Fire Station and animal control facility.

The city also is in debate with FEMA over $800,000 for mold remediation at the Paramount Theatre, Eyerly said.

Eyerly, who is leaving his post for the private sector in the next couple weeks, said the city won't be able to move ahead on some flood-recovery projects until it makes progress on some of the outstanding issues with FEMA.