Wymore May Not Receive Federal Disaster Funds

By Gordon HopkinsWhile much damage was done in southern Gage County by a storm in June, it does not appear to meet the threshold for federal aid. However, some state aid may still be available.On Saturday evening, June 11, during the Sam Wymore Days celebration, the storm brought damaging hail, winds of up to 57 miles per hour and even tornadoes. One EF1 (Enhanced Fujita Scale) tornado, with peak winds of 104 miles per hour, was tracked from southern Gage County into northern Marshall County, Kansas, and confirmed by U.S. National Weather Services in both Nebraska and Kansas.The Wymore and Blue Springs area was hard hit, with trees, limbs and utility poles knocked down by winds.Disaster DeclarationsOn Monday, June 13, Gage County Emergency Management advised FJN, “Gage County and the City of Wymore have filed disaster declarations with Nebraska Emergency Management for damages received from tornadic activity, straight line winds and hail that caused damages to personal and public property, including public utilities infrastructure affecting the health and safety of the citizens.”A disaster declaration is a formal statement by a jurisdiction that a disaster or emergency exceeds the response and/or recovery capabilities. If approved, the declaration makes these areas eligible for government assistance to repair damage to public facilities, such as downed power lines and poles.Gage County has been in touch with both FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and NEMA (Nebraska Emergency Management Agency).Such federal assistance applies to public facilities only, not private property.In order to qualify for federal funds, the state would have to meet a threshold of $3.2 million.“But then they would apply for the state funding from the governor's emergency fund,” said Wymore Fire Chief Mark Meintz during a Wymore City Council meeting on June 15. “For our town, we have to be over $88,000. Well, we're way over that.”Wymore hired AC Disaster Consulting, an emergency management firm providing planning, response and recovery services, to assist with preliminary damage assessments. Gage County Emergency Management also participated.Unfortunately, on July 1, Gage County Emergency Manager Lisa Wiegand reported to the Gage County Commissioners that the estimated amount of damage likely did not meet the threshold for federal disaster relief.“What we’re waiting on right now is the total damage assessment has been placed by the Disaster Committee at $2.7 million,” said Wiegand. “And so, we're still identifying some of those costs yet coming in but it's not looking favorable for a federal disaster.”Debris ManagementWhile much cleanup has been done, there is still more to be done. Numerous trees and limbs were knocked down by the storm and a major expense is going to be dealing with the resultant piles of debris. That issue was discussed at a meeting of the Wymore City Council on Wednesday, July 6.Wymore Fire Chief Mark Meints said the city will most likely have to obtain a tub grinder to chip tree limbs before they can be disposed of.Meints said burning the pile was not an option.“It's too big for fire,” said Meints. “I won't issue a burn permit for that big of a pile, and I wouldn’t want the liability.”Meints added that if they did try to burn the pile, “It's going to burn for two weeks at least.”At the commissioners meeting, Wiegand said, “We received that proclamation from Governor Ricketts for the city of Wymore. And so, hopefully, there’ll be state funding as the get to that point of managing that debris pile.”

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