FEMA meets with town

Email from MEMA re FEMA meeting today with Town of Medfield.

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To All Chief Municipal Officers and Emergency Management Directors from Communities of Norfolk County:

At the request of Governor Patrick, President Obama issued a Pre-Landfall Disaster Declaration for every community in Massachusetts on Friday, August 26, prior to Tropical Storm Irene impacting us. That Pre-Landfall Declaration assured federal assistance to communities in Massachusetts to cover 75% of storm related expenses related to emergency protective measures taken in response to the storm. Those emergency protective measures include emergency staff OT costs, equipments usage and limited debris removal.

After the storm, in an effort to gain a Major Disaster Declaration from the President, I asked all communities of Norfolk County to submit an Initial Damage Assessment (IDA) Form to better understand the overall and actual costs associated with TS Irene. A Major Disaster Declaration would cover costs associated with infrastructure damages and debris removal beyond what the Pre-Landfall Declaration includes. I’m happy to inform you that the combined IDA Reports we received from your communities reached the threshold necessary to trigger the next step in the process to gaining a Major Disaster Declaration. That next step is for FEMA to visit each individual community to validate their estimated costs.

MEMA staff members are currently making calls to schedule Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) meetings next Tuesday and Wednesday. If possible, please have as many department heads available as necessary to ensure all of FEMA’s questions can be adequately answered. Also, please make every effort to accommodate the time we’ve schedule for your community’s visit as we have multiple communities to visit in a short period of time while the FEMA assessors are here.

In advance of the PDA team’s arrival in your community, please follow the below guidance in gathering your storm costs.

1)      If your community used its own town labor forces to perform emergency work only overtime costs are eligible expenses. Supporting documentation for FEMA would include copies of payroll reports or timesheets.

2)     Town owned equipment utilized in response to the storm is eligible for reimbursement. For example, a 350 kw generator runs at a FEMA estimated cost of $95 an hour. A police vehicle running stationary and guarding a downed wire runs at an estimated cost of $16.25 per hour, weather the person behind the wheel is on OT or not. Please be able to provide a document or spreadsheet compiling all equipment costs.  A list of FEMA approved rates can be found attached to this email and here –http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/pa/eqrates.shtm

3)     If you hired a contractor to assist with storm-related cleanup, please provide a copy of the contract and paid invoices.  If you purchased materials, please provide a copy of the paid invoice showing quantity and verification the purchase was paid.

4)     Loss of community revenues related to the storm is ineligible.

Don’t worry if you’ve realized that your community has incurred more costs than you reported on your IDA. The IDA can simply be a starting point for the PDA meeting. Any costs that can be verified on the day of your meeting can eventually be submitted for reimbursement.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me directly with any questions as this is my top priority in the next week.

I also have some availability if you’d rather meet in person in the next couple of days.

Thank you for your assistance and cooperation in this matter.

-James

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James A. Mannion
Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency
Region II Manager – SE Massachusetts
cell: 508-922-3389 fax: 508-697-8869