Iron County holds hearing on grant to aid storm damage victims

HURLEY — The Iron County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing Tuesday regarding the county’s community development block emergency assistance grant application to secure funds for residents and businesses impacted by the July 11 storm.

Kimberly Gifford, a housing development specialist with the Northwest Regional Planning Commission, explained the county will be one of the eight counties under the state’s declaration of the emergency to apply for emergency assistance through the block grant program.

The grants are a federal program ran by the Department of Housing and Urban Development designed to target low and moderate income areas and the emergency assistance program provides assistance to qualifying communities after a disaster.

The Spooner-based commission will submit the application for the counties and administer the grant, if it’s approved.

As Iron County is the first county to move forward with the application, it will take the lead on the other counties, Iron County Emergency Management Director Stacy Ofstad told the Daily Globe.

According to Ofstad, it largely means Iron County will receive the funds from the federal government and then distribute them to the other counties accordingly.

Gifford explained the funds will be used for a mix of public and private qualifying projects.

“Iron County will be requesting approximately $2.3 million in funds. That number may change, but that’s an approximate. And that’s to assist with the following types of activities: Business assistance, public facility and housing rehabilitation or replacement,” she said.

According to Gifford, the emergency management directors in the eight counties have been tracking reports of damage and have sent the information to the commission to be included in the application.

She said 197 primary homes and 24 businesses in the region have “reported damages directly related to the storms beginning on July 11.”

There haven’t been any requests for funds to be used on public facility projects at this time, Gifford said, but that could change.

Ofstad said roughly 40 residences and five business were damaged as a result of the storm, but not all will necessarily qualify for funds through the block grant.

Eligible activities for qualifying homeowners include furnace and water heater replacement, repairing water or sewer lines on the private property, repairs to wells or septic systems and repair or replacement of a house’s structural components.

“If the repairs are greater than 50 percent of the pre-disaster fair market value of the damaged structure, we can look at a replacement situation,” Gifford said.

According to information presented at the meeting, repairs to vacation homes, outbuildings and driveways aren’t eligible for funding assistance.

Regarding assistance to businesses, she explained qualifying businesses can receive funds for building and equipment replacement, as well as inventory replacement.

Gifford said roughly 85 percent of the total $2.2 million will likely go to housing projects, 10 percent to businesses, with the final 5 percent going to public facilities such as road repairs if applications are made.

Following the hearing, the county board passed a series of motions required to qualify for the grants, including a resolution approving a cooperative agreement between Iron County and the other seven counties regarding the program.

Those with questions can contact Gifford at 715-635-2197.