The Leflore County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted Monday to form a partnership with Holmes County’s long-term recovery committee so that Leflore County may receive state funds to address damage from last month’s flooding.
County long-term recovery committees are composed of community organizations that work together to facilitate diaster relief. They are formed through an agreement with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).
Once established, a recovery committee can receive up to $250,000, in $50,000 increments, from the state to assist homeowners with materials needed for repairs. The program applies for only one disaster per year and is specifically designated for communities that do not qualify for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) individual assistance program.
The program then terminates after six months unless a county requests an extension to MEMA.
Because Leflore County does not yet have its own long-term recovery committee, it is working with the one in Holmes County.
Reginald Moore, the District 2 supervisor and president of the board, said at Monday’s meeting that the county will submit its documentation signaling the partnership to MEMA Tuesday for it to be validated by the state.
Within seven to 14 days, Leflore County should receive its first allotment of $50,000, Moore said.
The money — which can be used only to purchase materials for home repairs — will not go directly to residents but instead to Holmes County’s recovery committee, which will act as the fiscal agent on behalf of Leflore County.
Fred Randle, Leflore County’s emergency management director, explained to the board that members of Holmes County’s committee, along with volunteers, will facilitate the process of assessing damaged homes for what repairs are needed, having the materials needed for repairs purchased and conducting the repairs.
Leflore County would get these state funds only if Mississippi does not request individual assistance from FEMA or does not meet the federal agency’s parameters for federal assistance. The county must have a significant number of “destroyed” homes or homes with “major” damage, according to the agency’s preliminary damage assessment guidelines.
Mississippi has until Tuesday to request federal assistance. Randle could not say Monday evening whether the state had requested federal assistance.
Given that only four or five households in Leflore County have been flagged as having a “major” degree of damage and none had been listed as “destroyed,” the county might not qualify for FEMA’s individual assistance.
Randle emphasized to the board that even with the help of Holmes County’s recovery committee, repairs to damaged homes in Leflore County will still take some time. He also that Leflore County needs to work on establishing its own recovery committee.
The board voted last week to establish a recovery committee for Leflore County. It is to be composed of five to seven volunteers, including people who have experience in contract and social work.
In other business:
- The board voted 3-2 against giving county employees another $500 allotment for working through the COVID-19 pandemic from the COVID relief funds the county had received from the federal government.
District 1 Supervisor Sam Abraham, District 3’s Anjuan Brown and District 5’s Robert Collins voted no. Moore and District 4’s Eric Mitchell voted yes.
The board had voted 4-1 in December to pay $500 to all of the county’s roughly 200 employees as hazard pay for working during the pandemic.
Abraham, who voted against the hazard pay last year, said at the time that he felt it was unfair to pay county employees extra money while people throughout the county were all working through the pandemic. Moore said Monday that with the delta variant of COVID-19 spreading, he felt “compelled” to give county employees another hazard pay bump.
Prior to the vote, Brown and Collins expressed concerns about all county employees receiving the same amount of money even though some make different salaries. They said the board should take time to identify how else the county can use its COVID-19 relief funds.
- The board unanimously voted to apply for money from the state’s Emergency Road and Bridge Repair Fund to replace three bridges in the county.
The bridges that need to be replaced, according to Shane Correro, the county’s engineer, are bridge 65, located on County Road 523 in District 3; bridge 45, located on County Road 507 in District 4; and bridge 37, located on County Road 512 in District 5.
Correro did not provide a cost estimate.
- Contact Gerard Edic at 581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
