Public agencies in Cowley County will be eligible to recoup some of the money spent to clean-up after an ice and snow storm that hit the area from March 26 to March 29, emergency management director Brian Stone said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Wednesday that the storm caused enough damage to qualify for federal funding. FEMA provides 75 percent reimbursement.
Preliminary estimates show that local governments in Cowley County spent $292,000 on clean up after the late-winter storm. Of that, $100,000 in costs were reported by the city of Winfield and $80,000 was reported by the city of Arkansas City, Stone said.
FEMA and emergency management officials will meet with officials from eligible agencies Monday to begin the application process. Home and business owners are not eligible for reimbursement for this particular storm.
The reimbursement covers the cost of emergency personnel, clean up and replacement of disaster-damaged facilities.
Chautauqua, Elk, Butler and Sumner counties were among a number of other counties included in Wednesday’s disaster declaration.
Stone said the county is also hoping for a declaration to cover public clean-up expenses following flooding caused by heavy rains April 25. That storm caused about $232,000 in damage.
"We had a lot of rural flooding associated with that storm," he said. "A lot of the townships spent money cleaning up."
